Disney Announces New Annual Pass

03/10/2010 – Anaheim, Ca – Today The Walt Disney Company announced a new annual pass aimed at the most intense (and wealthy) Disney fans: an all-inclusive nationwide unlimited annual passport. Selling for $700/per person/per year (for both children and adults), the pass includes unlimited admission (no black-out dates) to every American Disney theme park: Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim, as well as The Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park in Orlando. If that wasn’t enough, it also includes unlimited admission to Disney’s two operating Florida water parks, Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Other Orlando amenities include unlimited use of ESPN Wide World of Sports, DisneyQuest, and Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course on the Florida property. For guests of both Anaheim and Orlando, the pass includes free parking and and a subscription to The Mickey Monitor, a Disney magazine exclusive to annual pass holders.

Prior to this, the highest level annual pass available included unlimited admission to all the theme parks at a particular resort; this is the first ticket offering valid at both American resorts. The current pricing for these resort-specific annual passes are $439 for The Disneyland Resort and $619 for Walt Disney World Resort; existing annual passport holders may upgrade by visiting the annual passport processing center at any of the six Disney parks. Passes may be purchased at any park ticket booth.

-Story by William J. Nash-McAdam

More Details on Universal’s King Kong

03/09/2010 – Universal City, Ca. – Today Universal Studios Hollywood’s press office released further details on the new King Kong 3-D 360 attraction set to open this summer along the Studio Tram Tour. This giant new experience, based off Peter Jackson’s interpretation of the famous story, replaces the 1980’s King Kong Audio-Animatronic, which was lost in a fire in June 2008. The brief storyline synopsis of the Kong ride-through was released one day after the Kong teaser trailer (which we brought you here) made its network debut during the Oscars.

From Universal Studios Hollywood Press:

In the new attraction guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and will be transported — via the magic of Surround Digital 3D projection — deep into the dark heart of the world of Skull Island. They’ll survive a close encounter with a swarm of monstrous bats, only to be confronted by the terrifying presence of Kong himself. Suddenly, an enormous, ravenous 35′ tall dinosaur will challenge Kong, and guests will feel their trams jolt, roll, and shudder as they find themselves caught in the middle of a ferocious showdown between the great ape and the giant lizard. The action will immerse guests in the battle between the two colossal predators!

Universal is making a big push towards the Kong ride-through; a rarity since a Studio Tram Tour experience hasn’t been the focus of major promotions since the 1988 opening of the Earthquake ride-through experience. In 2006, the Studio Tram Tour received small upgrades, including the conversion of the former Volcano experience into The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and a car demonstration based on “The Fast and The Furious”. After the June 2008 fire, which caused the loss of Kong along with most of the iconic New York Backlot, Universal added various mini-stunt shows to the remaining sets, including an encounter with Norman Bates outside of the Bates Motel and original “Psycho” house. Two former tram experiences were also returned to flush out the visitor experience: the Collapsing Bridge and the conversion of the Red Sea into King Kong Sea. It is expected that these last two experiences will be re-retired upon the completion of Kong and the new New York sets. The highly-anticipated Transformers: The Ride, which was originally slated to open in 2010, will open Summer 2011. The newest major attraction in the park is The Simpsons Ride, opened in 2008.

-Report by William J. Nash-McAdam

World of Color Video Released: WDI & Pixar

03/08/2010 – Anaheim, Ca. – The fine folks over at the official Disney Parks Blog released a behind-the-scenes video showing the growing partnership of Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney-Pixar in preparation for Disney’s World of Color. The new nighttime spectacular explores human emotions against a backdrop of water, color, music and animation. This video in particular features upcoming World of Color scenes inspired by the Disney-Pixar films “a bug’s life” and Wall-E. Disney’s World of Color debuts Spring 2010 in the Paradise Pier district of Disney’s California Adventure Park.

Header image and video are Copyright 2010 The Walt Disney Company.