5 Tips for Navigating Life with the Child Ahead of the Premiere of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian
by Thomas Smith, Editorial Content Director, Disney Parks
Recently, the all new trailer for Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian took the galaxy by storm. If you haven’t seen it already, check it out here:
Premiering Monday, May 4, with new episodes available every Friday onDisney+, the adventurous new series will offer fans the opportunity to join executive producer Jon Favreau as he goes behind the scenes of the first season of The Mandalorian. Packed with never-before-seen footage, interviews, and more, the eight-episode documentary series will explore unique elements of the first live-action Star Wars television show, from the filmmaking process to the series’ groundbreaking technology.
With the new series and May the 4th right around the corner, now is a great time to honor one of the fan-favorite characters from The Mandalorian – the Child. If you recently welcomed the Child into your home or are expecting the Child’s arrival any day now, here are some helpful tips on ways to integrate the Child into your everyday life:
The Child is a curious and mysterious alien! Show us how it is joining you in your daily activities with #TheMandalorian #StarWarsBe sure to stream Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, premiering Monday, May 4, 2020 on Disney+.
Disney Parks Inspire and Protect Nature Around the World
by Dr. Mark Penning, Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Disney Parks
As Earth Month comes to a close, we’re taking a look back at how Disney Parks, Experiences and Products celebrated the magic of nature and reminded us of ways that we can work together to protect the planet. However, these environmental initiatives are not just done during Earth Month – this is what Disney does every single day to take care of the world around us.
Walt Disney World Resort has taken continuous steps to reduce our environmental footprint – including, two solar arrays that provide enough clean energy to power two theme parks. Additionally, Walt Disney World horticulturists use innovative growing techniques to help feed a growing planet. Did you know that both Sunshine Seasons and the Garden Grill Restaurant serve fresh produce and seafood grown at The Land Pavilion in EPCOT?
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At Disneyland Resort, teams protect the magic of nature through promoting practices that reduce our impact on the environment. Did you know that all five Disneyland Resort steam trains and the Mark Twain Riverboat use biodiesel made with used cooking oil from our kitchens? This process eliminates ~200,000 gallons of petroleum diesel use per year. Additionally, lighting has been upgraded throughout the Resort to energy-efficient LEDs. In fact, Sleeping Beauty Castle is illuminated year-round entirely by LEDs!
As part of Disneyland Paris’s commitment to sustainable development, an innovative geothermal facility, located at Villages Nature Paris, uses naturally occurring underground heat and steam to help power the theme parks and resort areas. Additionally, Disneyland Paris is the only European theme park to have its own waste water treatment and recycling plant.
Meanwhile, at Shanghai Disney Resort, cast members engaged with a self-guided tour of its eco-friendly, Wishing Star Park, where the 106th species of bird was recently sighted. Additionally, the team shared facts about native Chinese species and conservation work done in partnership with Disney Conservation Fund. Did you know that Wishing Star Lake also has a powerful water treatment plant that recycles and purifies its water? In addition to ecological benefits, the lake water is also used to irrigate resort vegetation.
Fun fact: Hong Kong Disneyland Resort has on-site wood chippers that handle yard waste, including chippings and clippings from bushes and shrubs, turning plant materials into organic mulches. These wood chippers have allowed the Resort to reduce 830 tons of waste in 2019! Additionally, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort has an inventive food waste recycling program. Last year, the Resort sent 770 tons of food scraps to a government-owned anaerobic digestion facility, where food waste is converted into energy!
At Tokyo Disney Resort, we are committed to protecting nature and its resources for future generations, with one-sixth of our total theme park area set aside for greenery. Additionally, did you know that the Resort uses LEDs to illuminate “it’s a small world,” Cinderella’s Castle, Mount Prometheus, evening parade floats and much more? Tokyo Disney Resort also has a rigorous waste sorting process, in which cast members sort waste in accordance with detailed sorting criteria to recycle as much waste as possible.
Disney Cruise Line is also dedicated to minimizing our impact on the environment through increasing fuel efficiency, minimizing waste and promoting conservation worldwide. Disney Cruise Line has reduced the amount of single-use plastics found onboard, eliminating items such as plastic straws, travel-size bathroom amenity bottles, cutlery, stirrers, shopping bags and condiment packets. Additionally, the environmental programs of Disney Cruise Line have eliminated more than 6,400 tons of metals, glass, plastic and paper through recycling, and removed more than 31,000 pounds of debris from beaches and waterways.
This month, we took the time to understand the impact that nature has on the way we live our lives and how we can draw inspiration from the wonders of the world around us. We continue to remind ourselves why it is important to care for the planet, today and every day. Follow along on my Instagram, @DrMarkatDisney, as we continue strive to protect the magic of nature!
Disney Introduces Cloth Face Masks and Donations for Families and Communities in Need
by Laura Cirigliano, Director, Communications & Public Affairs, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products
Disney is committed to serving the communities where we live and
work. During these challenging times, we’re using the power of our timeless stories and beloved characters to address our guests’ needs.
Following the CDC’s recent recommendation to wear cloth face coverings in public settings, Disney is introducing non-medical, reusable cloth face masks featuring favorite Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters in the U.S., available for pre-order now on shopDisney.com.
To further help those in need, Disney is donating one million cloth face masks for children and families in underserved and vulnerable communities across the U.S., including California and Florida, that will be distributed by MedShare. Disney will also donate all profits from the sales in the U.S. of Disney’s cloth face masks to Medshare, up to $1 million, now through September 30, 2020.
“Disney’s donations will make a tremendous impact in the
communities we serve,” says Charles Redding, CEO and president of MedShare. “Their contribution of one million Disney cloth face masks will be provided to families in underserved communities and organizations working to limit the spread of COVID-19, while their monetary donation will be used to support the medical community’s ongoing efforts to provide lifesaving care to those who need it most.”
The cloth face masks are available for $19.99 for a four-pack, and feature a wide range of fan favorite characters, including: Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Anna and Elsa, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, The Avengers, the Child – affectionately known as Baby Yoda – and more!
“We realize this is a challenging time for families and wearing any type of mask can be daunting,” says Edward Park, senior vice president, Disney store and shopDisney. “Our hope is that Disney’s cloth face masks featuring some of our most beloved characters will provide comfort to the families, fans and communities that are so important to us.”
The cloth face masks align with the FDA’s latest recommendations on non-surgical, non-industrial grade face masks.
You can pre-order the cloth face masks – available in small, medium, and large sizes – now on shopDisney.com in the U.S., for estimated shipping in June. Care instructions, including washing and fitting guidelines, can be found on shopDisney.com. Disney’s cloth face masks are just one example of the company’s commitment to helping communities in need during the current healthcare crisis. As part of its nearly $5 million in-kind donations benefiting communities around the globe, The Walt Disney Company has already donated more than 100,000 N95 masks to the states of New York, California, Florida and Washington, D.C., and 175,000 rain ponchos to hospitals in need of additional protective garments.
#DisneyMagicMoments: Behind the Camera – It Was All About Timing at Shanghai Disneyland
by Matt Stroshane, Photographer, Walt Disney World Resort
Photography is all about timing – pressing the shutter at just the right time to capture a moment, shooting at the time of day when the light is just right, etc. Sometimes it takes a lot of planning to make sure all of the timing comes together to make the picture the best it can be.
In my nearly two decades as a Disney photographer, almost all the photos I’ve taken were assigned to me – someone needed a particular image, and needed me to get it. Sometimes, though, I get a picture stuck in my head I really want to capture – whether anyone asks or not! That happened with the photo you see here from the entrance of Shanghai Disneyland.
In July 2015, Bob Iger revealed the layout of Shanghai Disneyland, using a giant scale model of the park. That was the first time I saw the entrance’s clock tower with the giant Mickey Mouse, and I said to myself, “There is a picture there, with a cast member adjusting Mickey’s hands. I really want to make that picture happen.”
Almost a year later, in April 2016, I arrived in Shanghai as part of the team that helped open the park. My role was to create a new image library for the park that would be shared with the world. Once on the ground at the new Disney property, it was very much a giant and ever-changing construction site, but I made a note of the progress of that clock tower. In early May, there was finally enough progress done to try for the photo but there were still a lot of arrangements to be made first.
I needed a lift to raise me above the ground and line up with the clock tower and Enchanted Storybook Castle. I also needed a cast member to be on the balcony in front of the clock to adjust the hands. Perhaps most challenging, I needed to keep the area free from all of the construction equipment, even as the park was close to its June 2016 debut. Finally, I needed to make sure all of this occurred early in the morning so the hands of the clock would be within reach of the cast member (the lighting wouldn’t be right in the evening, as I’d discovered on a scouting mission).
The morning of the shoot finally arrived, and our team was in place and ready – all told, it took five people on-site to make this happen (including me). Just as I was strapping into the lift, though, my cell phone rang, and that’s when I learned there wasn’t an access point to the clock balcony. I immediately left the lift and headed up the clock tower staircase, hoping we could still make everything work without losing too much time. Once at the top, we noticed that they had installed the windows since our last scout and it looked like we were going to have to find another way to get our cast member out onto the balcony. But then we noticed a single bottom-row window pane hadn’t been installed yet, so our cast member was able to step through the window, onto the balcony and into position.
I raced back down the stairs and to the lift to get up in the air before we lost too much time, the light changed, or Mickey’s giant hands were out of reach – or all three! We were able to try a few different shooting locations and lens options, but this was one of the first frames from that morning, before the cranes resumed their work on the castle and the park filled again with craftspeople putting the finishing touches on the park.
Getting to that moment took a lot of planning, effort and flexibility on the part of a lot of people, but it was all worth it when I finally saw in full color the image that had been in my head for the past year. It makes me smile every time I look at it, and was definitely a #DisneyMagicMoment.
#DisneyMagicMoments: ‘The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II’ to Air this Mother’s Day on ABC
by Jeremy Schoolfield, Managing Editor, Walt Disney World Resort Public Relations
Earlier this month, millions of people across the United States joined together in spirit and song for ABC’s “The Disney Family Singalong,” spreading joy in a time when we all could definitely use some. Disney announced today an enchanting reprise will air this Mother’s Day with even more celebrities bringing #DisneyMagicMoments directly into your home once again.
ABC will broadcast “The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II” on Sunday, May 10, at 7 p.m. EDT, with Ryan Seacrest returning as host. “Volume II” will feature new star-studded performances, inventive at-home choreography and even more Disney magic.
The animated Mickey also returns, guiding you through on-screen lyrics so you can follow along in perfect harmony with celebrities performing beloved Disney tunes. The special will then be followed by a new episode of “American Idol,” following in the innovative remote format that debuted this past Sunday when audiences voted for the Top 10 finalists.
The new singalong special will also continue to raise awareness about Feeding America’s vast network and resources for people across the United States who are finding themselves in unfamiliar circumstances and facing hunger for the first time.
Performers for “The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II” will be announced soon, and we’ll share the highly anticipated lineup with you as soon as we can. In the meantime, if you’re looking for some more Disney magic, visit DisneyMagicMoments.com to discover entertaining stories, videos and activities from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic.
