Press Release:

STAR WARS REBELS

NEW STAR WARS  ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES

BEGINS PRODUCTION FOR 2014 PREMIERE

ON DISNEY XD CHANNELS AROUND THE WORLD

–Special Event Telecast to First Air on Disney Channel –

Production has begun on Star Wars Rebels, an exciting, all-new animated television series based on one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time.  Scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, it will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

Leading the development of the series is a creative team of exceptional talent. Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is an executive producer on Star Wars Rebels and will write the premiere episode. He is joined by Dave Filoni as executive producer, who served as supervising director of the ®Emmy nominated Star Wars: The Clone Wars since 2008. Executive producer Greg Weisman brings with him a wealth of animation experience with credits such as Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles.

Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide, said, “The entire team at Lucasfilm has provided extraordinary creativity and innovation for over three decades, and we’re thrilled to be bringing the expansive and imaginative world of Star Wars to Disney XD’s viewers.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to explore new corners of the Star Wars universe,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm. “I think Star Wars Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about Star Wars.”

The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV – an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely guarded secret at this point.

Star Wars Rebels will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, featuring many of the key talents that made Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Fans attending Star Wars Celebration Europe (http://www.starwarscelebration.eu/) will be the first to get an exclusive look at the new series. Casting will be announced at a later date. More information about this developing project will be found on www.StarWars.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/starwarsrebels.

For 2012, Disney Channel U.S. was #1 among Kids 2-11, Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 in Total Day measurements and #1 in Primetime among Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14. Disney XD delivered yearly ratings records in 2012 across both Total Day and Primetime in Total Viewers and all key kid and boy demographics.

In the Disney Channels Worldwide portfolio, there are 42 Disney Channels and 26 Disney XD channels, in over 20 languages, reaching hundreds of millions of viewers around the globe.  Disney Channels Worldwide is part of the Disney/ABC Television Group.

About Lucasfilm Ltd.

Lucasfilm Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is a global leader in film, television and digital entertainment production.  In addition to its motion-picture and television production, the company’s activities include visual effects and audio post-production, cutting-edge digital animation, interactive entertainment software, and the management of the global merchandising activities for its entertainment properties including the legendary STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES franchises.  Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in northern California.

Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © 2013 Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved.  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

In early 2011 Legoland announced the addition of a Star Wars themed area. Let EndorExpress.net show you the Star Wars of Legoland California! and don’t forget to mark your calendar for Legoland Star Wars Days scheduled in June!

Read our special report here!

Please read on for details on the updated D23 website and what the free D23 Membership will include.

Press Release:

D23: THE OFFICIAL DISNEY FAN CLUB LAUNCHES
REIMAGINED D23.COM WEBSITE JUNE 17

Members Will Have Online Access to Vast Array of
Exclusive Disney Content

Disney to Celebrate Expansion With New Free D23 Membership Level

BURBANK, Calif. – May 16, 2013 – On June 17, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, will launch a massive reimagining of its D23.com website, opening up the wonderful worlds of Disney like never before to its members. The site will provide access to newly digitized content that delves deeply into The Walt Disney Company’s vault of material, past and present, along with exclusive glimpses of the future. The new gated content will be free to current D23 Members; plus D23 is launching a new free level of membership, which will include access to this incredible content. D23.com will continue to offer the latest Disney news free to all guests who visit the site. But D23 Members can unlock even more magic in each section by logging in and accessing content whenever a golden key is shown.

“We’re creating a unique destination that celebrates, in all respects, the essence of Disney,” says Steven Clark, head of D23. “We believe the new site will offer one of the most engaging Disney experiences yet—with even more to come in the future. We look forward to debuting the new D23.com to our current members as well as to new ones from around the world.”

The reimagined D23.com will feature exclusive celebrity interviews; vintage film clips; rarely seen artwork and photography; treasures from the Walt Disney Archives; behind-the-scenes previews of new movies and theme park attractions; and more.

Website highlights at launch will include:

• 23 Questions – We enhance our popular feature with audio interviews with Once Upon A Time star Ginnifer Goodwin who reveals her Disney favorites—and what she’s looking forward to in the next season of the hit ABC show. Plus an exclusive with Phineas and Ferb’s popular “evil mastermind” Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz, who talks about his truly devious plans… and Christmas.
• D’scovered – Treasures unearthed by the Walt Disney Archives. In the coming weeks the Archives will share extremely rare imagery from the proposed Mickey Mouse Park, a concept which evolved into Disneyland; spine-tingling alternative dialogue for the Haunted Mansionpenned by Disney Legend X. Atencio; the illustrated story script for “The Karnival Kid,” the 1929 short in which Mickey Mouse first speaks; and a very special memento created for Walt by legendary artist Salvador Dali.
• Disney A to Z – A complete and newly-updated electronic version of the definitive Disney encyclopedia with more than 7,000 entries written by Dave Smith, founder and Chief Archivist Emeritus of the Walt Disney Archives.
• D23 Presents – A deeper dive into all parts of Disney from the opening of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland to rarely seen footage of the former Disney Studio on Hyperion Avenue.
• Disney Legends and the Walt Disney Archives – Two new microsites; Disney Legends will provide a deeper look at those who’ve made significant contributions to the Disney legacy, and the Archives site will open up the doors of this venerable institution so D23 can share more of The Walt Disney Company’s expansive collections.

In addition, new departments and sections include: Weird Disney, looking at some of the more unusual and outrageous pieces of Disney’s past;Characters, profiling the most beloved characters from television, film and comics with concept art and complete biographies; The Quotable Walt Disney, a digitized version of the out-of-print book featuring some of Walt’s most enduring words; Ask a Legend, a video feature in which Disney Legends like Marty Sklar answer fans questions; First Look, which gives members a glimpse into what’s new and what’s next including Monsters University;Attraction Rewind, celebrating the beloved attractions of Disney’s past which once delighted theme park guests; and Muppetology, which opens up the Muppet-acular universe of our fuzzy friends. D23’s popular video series Armchair Archivist and Disney Geek will also return with all-new episodes.

And that’s just the beginning—on launch day, D23.com will reveal even more surprises.

D23 Free Membership will include:

• Members-Only Website Content: Access to all exclusive content onD23.com.

• Exclusive Merchandise: D23 offers its members access to exclusive, limited-edition merchandise and collectibles.

• Subscription to Weekly D23 FanFare E-newsletter with breaking news and special offers. (You may opt out of receiving FanFare after your first e-newsletter arrives.)

• Discounted tickets to the D23 Expo 2013: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event (For more information click here.)

About D23

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club celebrates the remarkable past, present, and future of Disney, taking its name from 1923, the year Walt Disney founded his world-famous company. D23 brings its members a host of exclusive benefits, including a weekly e-mail newsletter; an array of discounts and special offers; and exclusive, member-only special events.

Disney fans can join the world’s only Official Disney Fan Club by visitingwww.D23.com or www.DisneyStore.com/D23. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow “DisneyD23” on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

Press Release:

Ashley Eckstein Debuts New Star Wars™ by Her Universe
Apparel at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends 2013

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 13th, 2013 - The Force is back at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park asStar Wars Weekends returns May 17th through June 9th. Fans from all over the world come to share their love of all things Star Wars and Disney during this special event. Returning for the fifth year in a row is actress Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and founder of the popular sci-fi merchandise line for fangirls, Her Universe™. As with previous years, Eckstein will be bringing an all-new, unique range of Star Wars by Her Universe designs to the month-long event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios including fashion tops, tunics, tanks and dresses located in Darth’s Mall. Eckstein will be meeting fans and signing autographs every day during the event and she will also be returning as host for Behind the Force: Star Wars Voices each weekend.

“As a lifelong Disney fan, it’s a dream come true for me to return to Disney’s Star Wars Weekends and debut my new Her Universe merchandise,” said Eckstein. “It’s been an honor to work with Disney to create designs for this event. We have an assortment of new items for female fans of all ages, including our new exclusive Return of the Jedi necklace in honor of the 30th Anniversary!”

Her Universe has only made 1,250 necklaces to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of this beloved movie. This extremely limited edition piece will come with an autographed certificate by Eckstein and will only be sold at select Her Universe events debuting at Star Wars Weekends. Only 500 necklaces will be available for sale at Disney starting on May 17th. They are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Also debuting at the event will be will the highly anticipated Rogue Squadron dress and X-Wing Pilot tank top. Other items premiering will be matching youth and adult R2-D2 tunic tops, an adorable youth Princess Leia tunic top, retro women’s fashion tops and a limited edition Asajj Ventress costume top.

Photo credit: – Kelsey Edwards Photography- http://www.kelseyedwardsphoto.com/

About Her Universe
Her Universe was launched in 2009 by actress and entrepreneur Ashley Eckstein, and her partner, The Araca Group, known as one of the most innovative theatrical production and merchandise companies in the world. Her Universe was created to directly address the expanding market of female fans by entering into its first agreement with Lucas Licensing to develop and produce a line of female-centered Star Wars apparel and accessories. The success of that line was followed up with a collection for the Syfy network including such shows as Battlestar Galactica and with BBC America for Doctor Who and with CBS Consumer Products for Star Trek. You can learn more about Her Universe and purchase the current line of fangirl apparel and accessories by going to www.heruniverse.com and by following Eckstein on Facebook (facebook.com/HerUniverse) and Twitter (twitter.com/HerUniverse).
 
About Disney’s Star Wars Weekends 
Running every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 17th through June 9th, Disney’s Star Wars Weekends is an annual event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park celebrating all things Star Wars. In addition to offering fans a unique opportunity to join Jedi Masters, Sith Lords and Star Wars celebrities for special shows, presentations, memorabilia and the all-new Star Tours attraction: Star Tours –The Adventures Continue. For more information on Star Wars Weekends, visit: disneyworld.com/starwarsweekends or disneyparks.com/blog.

STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

Unfortunately we weren’t there to welcome the latest version of Star Tours but RocketNews24 was.  They have a great report with photos of the launch.

You can also visit the Disney Parks Blog for more on Star Tours at Tokyo Disneyland.

Tokyo Star Tours Grand Opening Photo © RocketNews24

Image & video © Disney/Lucasfilm

Please continue on to 

Press Release:

“TREASURES OF THE WALT DISNEY ARCHIVES” RETURNS TO THE D23 EXPO,

 CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARY POPPINS, THE ABC HITONCE UPON A TIME AND DISNEY’S ENDURING CONNECTION TO THELAND OF OZ

The spectacular exhibit will feature imagery, costumes, props, set pieces and more,

many displayed publicly for the first time by the Walt Disney Archives

BURBANK, Calif. – May 9, 2013 – D23: The Official Disney Fan Club and the Walt Disney Archives are proud to announce the return of the “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” exhibit to the D23 Expo. During the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, August 9 – 11, 2013, this all-new exhibit curated specifically for the D23 Expo 2013 will feature: the 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins, ABC’s hit television series Once Upon A Time, and a look at the longstanding connection between Disney and L. Frank Baum’s beloved series of books about the land of Oz.

“Treasures” will showcase a selection of crown jewels from the Walt Disney Archives Collection, many of which will be displayed publicly for the first time by the Archives. As the 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins approaches, the Archives will be presenting a wide array of pieces from the Academy Award®-winning 1964 film including concept art and matte paintings, Mary and Bert’s carousel horses, the snow globe from the “Feed the Birds” sequence, costumes worn by many of the central characters and the recently acquired carpet bag, which Mary carries with her when she arrives at the Banks’ household. Also part of the exhibit will be the Fan ArtGallery, themed to Mary Poppins. D23 Members were invited to submit their work as part of the D23 Expo Fan Art Contest, and the winners’ colorful creations will be displayed in this year’s gallery.

On the heels of the global success of Oz The Great and Powerful, the Archives is proud to assemble artifacts illustrating Disney’s long association with L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. Highlights include a costume from 1957’s “Rainbow Road to Oz”—a segment from The Fourth Anniversary Show, which celebrated Walt’s four years on television, starring many of the Mickey Mouse Club’s Mouseketeers—as well as concept art from unrealized attractions and Disney Studio productions. Also featured are props and costume pieces from 1985’s Return to Oz including the Tik-Tok puppet, “Powder of Life” tin, and Dorothy’s costume and slippers. And, of course, there will be an assortment of costumes from this year’s Oz The Great and Powerful.

Now finishing its second hit season, Once Upon A Time has become a huge hit among Disney fans for its ability to remain true to many of Disney’s classic stories while expanding their worlds with a modern twist. The Archives is honored to be presenting a selection of elegantly designed costumes from the show.

The D23 Expo 2013 will also feature the Disney Legends Awards—a tradition that pays tribute to the talented men and women who have made indelible contributions to the Disney legacy; the return of the D23 Expo Dream Store, featuring a wide selection of unique merchandise; an expanded Collectors Forum, where Disney fans can buy, sell and trade Disney collectibles, memorabilia and merchandise—and this year’s Forum will also include the worlds of Marvel and Star Wars—plus amazing live events, special celebrity appearances, panels and presentations and unique experiences from every corner of Disney, from upcoming feature film and television sneak peeks to what’s new and what’s next from our theme parks around the world.

About D23 Expo 2013

The D23 Expo—The Ultimate Disney Fan Event—brings the entire world of Disney under one roof, providing attendees with unprecedented access to Disney films, television and theme parks. For the latest D23 Expo 2013 news, visitwww.D23Expo.com. To be part of the D23 Expo conversation, make sure to follow @DisneyD23 and tag your tweets with #D23Expo.

About D23

The name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his fledgling studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s 88-year history. D23 gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic through its quarterly publication Disney twenty-three; a rich website at www.D23.com;  member-exclusive discounts and special events for D23 Members throughout the year, highlighted by the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, August 19-21, 2011.

Fans can join D23 at www.D23.com and at www.DisneyStore.com/D23. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow us @DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.

The Disney Parks Blog has more details on the release of this collectible line-up.  It reveals that “Rex from the original Star Tours attraction was designed for Park Starz 1,” said Casey Jones “I’m glad he finally made it — better late than never!”

The rest of the series includes Orange Bird, It’s A Small World Hippo & Holland Girl, Carnotaurus (Dinosaur), Pirates of the Caribbean Redhead, Maelstrom Troll, Tower of Terror Bellhop, Jungle Cruise Baby Elephant, Tapestry of Nations Puppet, Mark Twain, and Haunted Mansion Gus. There’s a secret chase figure to find and that is Wally Boag from the original Golden Horseshoe Revue.

Happy Hunting!

Also revealed is a photo opportunity with a life-size Rancor and specialty “one-man shows” by James Arnold Taylor, Ray Park, and Warwick Davis.

Highlights for me include Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar) and Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka and… a slew of other Disney favorites).  Who are you most looking forward to seeing?

From Disney Parks Blog:

Here’s a list of scheduled celebrities for this year’s Force-filled fan fest:

Weekend I (May 17–19) 
Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Captain REX – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend II (May 24-26)
Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok – Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend III (May 31 – June 2)
Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok – Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend IV(June 7-9)
Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian – Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VIReturn of the Jedi)
Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca – Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back,Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Image © Disney/Lucasfilm

Now that the ride has been updated, and many of these droids are moved or gone entirely, we felt it was high time to declassify this little gem.

Exactly where these photographs originate is currently lost from memory, but our own Alex Newborn spent many hours studying the images and tweaking them in the computer, adjusting the brightness and contrast, and also skewing them so they appeared ‘flat’ to camera. Along the way he realized that some of the thumbnail images of the droids were cropped from single larger photographs, such as these recombined shots of R2 and S-4, and R5 and G2-9T.

Over time, he realized that a group of Japanese characters were repeated throughout the text, and suspected correctly that these were the letters for ‘droid’. Eventually, he sent the images to his friend Martin Thurn, who was able to provide a rough approximation of their translations. For some of the harder-to-read areas of the image, there was a certain amount of guesswork and creative gap-filling, but nothing that impacted the text or proper names in a significant way.

Space Cap Droid has been given new prominence in the queue of Tokyo’s updated Star Tours, appearing between RX-24 and another F-series droid in a pose familiar to anyone who’s ever ridden the Haunted Mansion. He was a perfect choice, since he’s always worn a hat. Recent photographs show that the number ‘F-25′ can be seen on his torso, possibly something that has always been there. But since they did modify Rex so that he has a humanoid hand for hitchhiking, it is possible that the designation is a more recent addition.

S-4 and P-6 were removed several years ago from the post-show area, where they were originally helping the other ‘R2′ unit to decontaminate baggage. Since they were repurposed industrial robots, chances are they simply broke down and could not be repaired, so for some time R2 handled things by himself. But now, since the pre-show queue has been changed to a similar baggage-inspection theme, the Tokyo post-show has been entirely omitted. There is now just a corridor funneling you out to the Skywalk.

Two more of the droids, Dan Android and Lady Droid, were not physically present at the attraction, they only appeared on monitors in the post-show. Dan Android was the spokesdroid for the post-show TourScan wall, which advertised additional Star Tours destinations that were in reality some cleverly recycled footage from Epcot’s late, lamented Horizons attraction. [For those of you who know what a huge fan Alex is of the movie Ghostbusters, rest assured he did not come up with that Dan Android joke himself; he was as delighted as anyone to receive Martin's translations with that pun among them, and transcribed that entry to the revised English version verbatim.]

Lady Droid was visible in the videophone call that Passenger Droid was making on Starlink, and was likely the same AA figure with some ‘drag’ redressings, shot before the ride opened. Tourscan and Starlink (with a Starmap in between) were the final post-show attractions before you exited via the Skywalk to the Astrozone.

Image © Disney/Lucasfilm