My Favorite Things: 2010

10). The Hub

Though most of it is the same, Discovery Kids quietly became The Hub in the Fall of 2010. So why is this good? If you like older shows, like Happy Days, Family Ties, Batman and more, then you're in luck. I DVR Happy Days each night, and enjoy it!


9). Family Guy "And Then There Were Fewer"

Though the most recent season of Family Guy has been pretty lackluster (let's stop focusing on only Brian and Stewie), the season opener was anything but. Funny and mysterious, "And Then There Were Fewer" is, in my opinion, the best Family Guy episode yet.

8). Tangled

Though it probably won't win any awards (that will be Toy Story 3), Tangled was an ingenious movie that was funny and touching. And it's doing something Princess and the Frog didn't: it's making money.

7). Jimmy Kimmel

In a year when most people were Team Coco, I was not. Overrated and not that funny, I was saddened to see most people ignore Jimmy Kimmel. He is the funniest of all the late night talk show hosts. Watch him, and you won't be disappointed. Not to mention, he hosted a great "Aloha to Lost" special.

6). Betty White

Whether she's hosting the best SNL in recent memory or staring in her own

5). Modern Family

By far the funniest show on TV, Modern Family is the rare show where I really can't choose a favorite character. I love each one. Even the kids.

4). Fringe Seasons 2 and 3

Fringe was a pretty cool show up until the end of Season 2, when it became incredible. It has became my favorite show on TV right now. It's just awesome.

3). Toy Story 3

I was very young when the first movie came out. Now, just like Andy, I'm off to college. This movie was not just funny, fun, and enjoyable. It tackled themes that only a Pixar film could do. And I cried a little at the end, like 90% of the people who saw it.

2). World of Color

Nothing about this show disappointed me. I loved the entire thing. It was emotional, as well as a technological wonder. I only saw it live twice, and have watched it numerous times on video, but I still love it. I look forward to seeing it again on my next trip!

1). The Lost Finale

A roller coaster. Emotional. Heart wrenching. Mysterious. Surprising. Fun. I could go on and on to describe the greatest show ever to grace TV, but that may become tedious. Instead, we'll end 2010 with the clip that made me and many of you, cry your eyes out.

Disneyland: 2010

Disneyland has changed a lot since this time last year! Disneyland saw many refurbishments to rides that surely needed them while it quietly celebrated its 55 Anniversary. The park looks better than ever! Disney's California Adevnture saw a huge increase in the amount of construction work, with the debut of World of Color, the retheme of several attractions, and groundbreaking for The Little Mermaid and Carsland. Please note that some of these are my own pictures, while some belong to dlfreak over at MouseInfo.com. He always has the best pictures, so I encourage you to check them out!
We have a lot to look back on, so let's go!

Disneyland

Star Tours closed earlier this year in preparation for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, which opens May 2011.

Remember Honey I Shrunk the Audience? Well, that aging ride was put out to pasture for good to make way for Captian EO: Tribute.


The Disney Gallery, which had been MIA since The Dream Suite was created, was finally brought back to a really nice location in the Main Street Bank. The Disney Gallery is now connected to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which opened last year.


And let's not forget the 4 month long refurbishment for the Rivers of America. All the boats and Fantasmic! went down while new additions were made to the Rivers. New effects were also seen in Fantasmic!





Disney's California Adventure
I thought there were a lot of walls at DCA in the beginning of the year! But now, there are many, many more! One thing that has slipped many people's minds (including mine!) are the new additions to Grizzly River Run. Slowly, the white water raft ride is being transformed into a 50's era National Park. Unfortunately, I have no pictures. But rest assured, by the time Golden State is ready to be tackled in Phase 2, all of the extreme sports references to the mountain will be gone.

Through various stages, the Red Car tracks in Hollywood Pictures Backlot were completed. The land was also announced to become Hollywoodland in the future. To combat the closure of the main entrance, temporary one was built between a bug's land and Tower of Terror. This became permanent in August.



The former ampitheater was demolished and made way for a beautiful viewing terrace dubbed Paradise Park.

The Little Mermaid construction has also increased. The ride opens May 2011.

Silly Symphony Swings also opened this year, surprising many people with its rich details and beautiful surroundings.

Across the way, Burger Invasion and Pizza Oom Mow Mow closed to become Paradise Gardens eaterie..

Maliboomer finally disappeared, which shocked many fans because it happened so quickly. Still, it is nice to see it gone! A park is supposed to open in its place, featuring a meet and greet.


Mulholland Madness also closed, to be turned into Goofy's Sky School next year.

Carsland rockwork has dominated the DCA skyline, with topping off occuring in October. The Bountiful Valley Farm closed to make way for more Carsland space.



To add to World of Color, Glow Fest was a popular, albeit tacky, Dance Party. ElecTRONica premiered in the fall, which was much nicer and even more popular

Meanwhile, the big event this year at DCA was its new nighttime show. World of Color premiered to the park guests in June. It has been well recieved, and later, Troncore was added after the show, which has been recieved well, too.

In the front of the Park, walls have gone up around sunshine plaza. It will be a mess next year as stores close and walls fill the land. The new turnstiles should be open by August, though the letters are slated to be removed in January. But come may, there will be

a lot less walls throughout the park!

Disneyland Hotel
The Disneyland Hotel is finally getting a decent theme to a retro Disneyland. The towers are being transformed, and the rooms are beautiful. The pool area is also seeing a major makeover. The entire thing will be finished by 2012. Perhaps then something will be done about Paradise Pier?




It's been a fun and exciting year at Disneyland Resort. Things will be even better next year, with new rides and the fastly approaching opening of Carsland. Stay tuned!

The First Full World of Color Testing Video

Over at Laughing Place, they have the first full 25-minute video of World of Color. I've embeded it here for your convienece!



Is this the full thing? There seems to be important scenes and effect missing. Keep in mind, we're still 2 months away from the opening. So there's still work to be done.

But in the mean time, it's absoultely stunning. I did not watch the entire thing, because I want to be surprised. But the parts I did watch left me feeling indescribable emotions. This show is going to be unlike anything any one of us has seen before.

Amazing.

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Official Expansion of DCA

Before we went through all the new attractions that were removed and/or added to Disneyland's struggling sister park. Now that new management was introduced to Disneyland, it was time for Disneyland to get the sister park it always deserved. One that was richly themed and has the layers Disneyland had. One that was a full day park. One that was not tacky or ugly, but was beautiful.

On October 17, 2007, something momentous occured. The Walt Disney Company announced a $1.1 Billion Expansion to DCA. It would be done in sections over the course of a few years, with final construction ending in 2012 before a second phase would begin. Though these new additions were coming, let's take a look at 2 new attractions that were not included in the budget, but helped set the tone for the retheme.

Toy Story Midway Mania is one of the most technoloically sophisticated rides WDI has ever come up with. In it, you ride through the 3D world of Toy Story playing classic Midway games with a few twists in them. Rig tosses, pie throws, dart throws, and more are found in this ride. It is a lot of fun and quite addicting. The ride holds a lot of people per hour, so the line moves quickly. Even so, it's not uncommon to wait over 45 minutes for the ride.

Outside the attraction, Mr. Potatohead serves as the Boardwalk Barker who entices people to visit the ride. He is one of the most technolically advanced Audio-Animatronics created.

While this is all nice, it's really the outside of the attraction that sets the mood for the new Paradise Pier. Paradise Pier will now be have a Victorian theme and feature rides themed to classic Disney shorts. The Sun Wheel is now Mickey's Fun Wheel and the Games of the Boardwalks are now themed to classic shorts. In the not-so-distant future, the Pier Shops will also get Victorian theming, as well as the new Garden Grill that will replace Pizza Omm Mow Mow and Burger Invasion. The Orange Stinger will be replaced Silly Symphony Swings and Mullholland Madness will be replaced by Goofy's Sky School. (More info will be found in Future Updates).










World of Color also was approved before the massive expansion. The show will celebrate the music and magic of Disney's Animated movies, ranging from classics all the way up until today. Currently, the fountains are under construction and so is the viewing area that will accomadate about 9000 people. While this continues, the Paradise Bay is recieving extensive beautification, with more rock work, lighthouses, and ornaments. (More info will be found in future updates).


A brand new attraction will also replace Golden Dreams. The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Adventure will take guests into Ariel's Undersea Adventures (lol) and showcase all the songs from the movie. It is being compared to Haunted Mansion and will feature the Omnimover system. It's set to open in 2011. The ride will be set in a lavish Victorian-esque Aqaurium. (More info will be found in future updates).


As we move away from the peir, we head into the next big thing to open: Buena Street. Buena Vista Street will replace Sunshine Plaza and will be themed to 1920s LA, just as Walt Disney Would have seen it when he stepped of the train. The shops will be rethemed and the Redcars will be added, as well as streets, curbs, and sidewalks. Also to be added is Carthay Circle Theater which will be one of the park icons. (More info will be found in future updates).







We also have Carsland. I did an extensive report on Carsland months agom but I'll do a short rehash here. Carsland will celebrate California's love affair with ars and celebrate not only Route 66, but CA's desert landscapes. The land is themed around Radiator Springs, the town from Cars and will feature 3 new rides. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree will be an "outdoor" swinging darkride, meaning it will be lavishly themed like a darkride but be outdoors. Luigi's Roamin Tires will be the 1960s Flying Saucers of Tomorrowland with better technology making for a better ride and less matinence problems. The highlight of this land will be Radiator Springs Racers, which will not only take people on a tour of the town, but will feature 2 Cars racing against each other. It's going to be one hell of a ride. (More info will be found in future updates).



The Grizzly Peak Area will also get some additions, like animals to Grizzly River Run and possibly a Mine-Train type train ride that goes around the area. Soarin' wll also be rethemed from a desert area to a mountain area. (More info will be found in future updates).

Hollywood Pictures Backlot will also recieve real facades and not the fake ones it has now. It will also be themed to 1930 Hollywood, and recieve the name "Hollywoodland" as homage to what Hollywood was first named. (More info to come in future updates).


In just a few years, Disney's California Adventure will become the second gate Disneyland always deserved. Better late then never, right? And what better way to see this then at the Bluesky Cellar? Every few months, new artwork and models will be added into the cellar where CMs will be happy to answer questions about the projects. Expect the next change out to occur after World of Color opens and to be focised more on The Little Mermaid and the attractions around there.