Extra! Extra! Tink All About It!: D23 Expo Recap, Day Two

Today was a BIG day for Disney fans! Lots of huge announcements, so let's get right to 'em!

1. It was announced that the next Disney musical heading to Broadway is.... FROZEN!!!! (Who's surprised here?? Anyone??)

2. During today's Live Action Panel a lot of movies were mentioned and had clips shown. To start things off, Guests heard about Marvel's two newest films, Dr. Strange (Oct. 26, 2016), starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Captain America: Civil War (May 6th, 2016), starring Chris Evans. Next was a movie about a Coast Guard rescue mission, called The Finest Hours (Jan. 29th, 2016). Chris Pine stars. The Jungle Book (Apr. 15th, 2016) was introduced and Guests got to hear some of Bill Murray singing "The Bare Necessities" as Baloo. Again, Alice Through the Looking Glass was mentioned, and Guests heard more about the plot line, which will take Alice (Mia Wasikowska) back in time, to try and rescue The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Pete's Dragon (Aug. 12th, 2016) had a sneak peek clip shown, and we learned that it will not be a musical, unlike the original version, and it will star Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford. Queen of Katwe stars Lupita Nyong'o as a chess prodigy from Uganda. The spectacular live action musical of Beauty and the Beast (Mar. 17th, 2017) impressed Guests with a brief musical video greeting from the cast, including Emma Watson and Josh Gad. Perhaps some of the most exciting news was about the 5th installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales (Jul. 7th, 2017) Johnny Depp showed up in full Jack Sparrow mode to help announce that Orlando Bloom would be returning as Will Turner this time around. (Hooray!) Then the attention shifted to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Dec. 18th, 2015), and Harrison Ford made a surprise appearance. Also mentioned were Star Wars: Episode VIII (May 26th, 2017) and Star Wars: Episode IX (2019). An untitled Hans Solo, stand alone movie was also officially announced and given a release date of May 25th, 2018. Also announced, Rogue One, (Dec. 16, 2016) the first stand alone Star Wars story, starring Felicity Jones and Diego Luna. Holy Star Wars!!!!

3. Mr. Bob Iger then made Star Wars fans dreams come true by officially announcing that Star Wars Land is coming to both Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando, and Disneyland California! Each land will be 14 acres and will feature a Cantina restaurant, a Millennium Falcon ride, and some sort of live "battle" that Guests will be a part of. Star Tours will get a redo, to include characters from The Force Awakens. Season of the Force will be celebrated on both coasts, starting in early 2016. Disneyland will be getting an event similar to Orlando's Star Wars Weekends, including an overlay to Space Mountain, making it Hyperspace Mountain. Orlando will get a Star Wars fireworks show on selected weekends. Star Wars Launch Bay will open later this year, at both The Studios and Disneyland, and it will be an interactive Guest experience, revolving around the newest Star Wars installment.

4. The big parks news was that Disney Hollywood Studios is ALSO getting Toy Story Land!!!!! The new land will be 11 acres and will feature two major attractions: A Green Alien Swirling Saucer ride and a Slinky Dog Dash family coaster! Toy Story Midway Mania is also being expanded, to accommodate more Guests with a shorter wait.

5. Over at Animal Kingdom, more announcements were made, elaborating on what we already know about the Avatar themed area. It will be called Pandora - The World of Avatar. There will be two major attractions. Avatar - Flight of Passage will be a flying ride, in which Guests fly on the back of a banshee. I have heard it uses similar technology to Soarin', but is way cooler. There will also be a boat ride, but not much detail was given about that. And as we have already heard, Rivers of Light will be opening in 2016, as a nighttime water parade. Kilimanjaro Safaris will also be offering nighttime safaris, and adding hyenas and wild African dogs. All of this will, hopefully, be making Animal Kingdom into an evening park, an no longer just a "half-day park", as many Guests currently see it.

6. The Iron Man Experience is coming to Hong Kong Disneyland. Guests can meet and interact with the superhero in this all new themed area.

7. Frozen continues melting the hearts of kiddos everywhere. Not only is Epcot's Norway pavilion getting the Frozen Ever After ride, they will be getting a new area that is designed to make Guests feel like they are in the village of Arendelle. They can visit Princess Anna and Queen Elsa at their Royal Summerhaus.

8. Both California Adventure and Epcot will see an all new version of Soarin' in 2016, when Soarin' Around the World premiers!

9. Shanghai Disneyland is getting ready to show off what it's got, when it opens in 2016, including the new Tron Light Cycle Run ride, which will be one of the fastest Disney rides, EVER!


     That's what we know so far. Check out the official Disney announcements HERE! I will update this post again, if any more information comes out today. Have a magical night, Tinkers!!!