Shelly Valladolid

LEGOLAND Hotel now set to welcome its first guests on April 5th

2013-01-18T06:53:00Z

It was a bright, sunny morning in Carlsbad, CA today, when LEGOLAND California held a brief presentation outlining the upcoming plans for the resort in the next year, including a new 4-D experience based on their new Chima series & toys and the opening of the first LEGOLAND Hotel in the United States. General Manager Peter Ronchetti spoke, outlining the successes of the past year and unveiling the new attraction, which will open to the public March 7 at LEGOLAND California and the LEGO Discovery...(read more)

Disney Interactive introduces new gaming platform, Disney Infinity, at the El Capitan Theatre

2013-01-17T04:13:00Z

My daughter and I attended the launch of Disney Infinity , Disney Interactive 's new platform at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood Tuesday. In a kind gesture to the Disney fan community, members of D23 , the official Disney fan club, were invited to attend and watch the proceedings from the balcony. Where they then received a shout-out from the stage from John Lasseter. John Lasseter at Tuesday's Disney Infinity preview event. Photo by Alice Hill John Pleasants , John Lasseter and John...(read more)

Disneyland's Three Kings Day celebration offers Limited Time look at Southern California's Mexican culture

2013-01-04T05:28:00Z

I know that it's usually not cool to peek at your Christmas presents. But given that Ephinany comes at the very tail end of the holiday season ... Well, I'm hoping that it'll be okay if I reveal what Disneyland Park has planned for this weekend's three day-long Three Kings' Day celebration. Starting today, Frontierland 's Big Thunder Ranch will be decorated with huge hanging papel picado banners ... Photo by Alice Hill ... and fresh flowers ... Photo by Alice Hill ... as this...(read more)

Celebrating the holidays aboard the Disney Wonder

2012-12-24T13:53:00Z

In early December, a pal and I decided to close out the year with a week-long Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera, the last time (at least for the near future) that the Wonder will be making this voyage. As with the parks, the holidays were in full swing on board, and we even got to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah our last night on board. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved In the lobby, there's a huge, beautiful Christmas tree - and the scrollwork on the base matches...(read more)

Travel Channel's "Toy Hunter" will bring toy stories to television

2012-07-29T00:17:00Z

Jordan Hembrough always loved toys. What kid didn't? As a child, his room was filled with Mego Star Wars toys, superhero toys, the staples of the American boy (or tomboy) of the seventies. Like many of those kids, he loved his toys and hung on to them. "Toy Hunter" host Jordan Hembrough. Copyright 2012 Scripps Network, LLC. All rights reserved In college, Hembrough quickly found a job as Head buyer for a chain of sci-fi/comic collectible stores, and began traveling the country looking...(read more)

Buena Vista Street adds some much-needed charm & heart to Disney California Adventure Park

2012-06-12T01:29:00Z

By now, you've no doubt seen some of the photos which came out of this past weekend's preview events at Disney California Adventure Park . Photo by Noe Valladolid If you look around the Web, 90% of the images that have been posted focus on Cars Land ... Photo by Noe Valladolid ... which is understandable. Given that Cars Land features that spectacular new attraction, Radiator Springs Racers ... Photo by Noe Valladolid ... not to mention all of that terrific-looking neon which comes on every...(read more)

E3 revealed how serious Disney Interactive is getting about social gaming

2012-06-08T04:01:00Z

Disney Interactive has embraced the social gaming concept in a big way, and they were eager to show off their newest games at E3 this week. Following the success of Gardens of Time , a Facebook game from their Playdom studio that beat out Cityville last year as Facebook 's Most Popular Game of 2011, they stepped up the Disneyfication with Disney's Animal Kingdom Explorers , a very similarly-played game of garden/zoo-building and finding hidden objects while cooperating with other players...(read more)

Disney Games looks forward and hops back with its E3 display

2012-06-06T15:31:00Z

Greetings from this year's E3 . Mind you, there's always a bit of a line as you try and enter the Los Angeles Convention Center . Photo by Noe Valladolid But it's always worth it once you get out on that show floor, where you're then surrounded by all these amazing displays which have been assembled by the top companies in the video game industry. Photo by Noe Valladolid All with the hope that E3 attendees -- once they go home with bags filled with spectacular swag and/or have used...(read more)

Universal Studios Hollywood transforms its Lower Lot for the grand opening of "Transformers: The Ride-3D"

2012-05-25T03:45:00Z

Universal Studios Hollywood transformed its Lower Lot yesterday, rolling out yards & yards of red carpet right next to the Starway escalator, so that celebrities like Holly Robinson Peete ... Holly Robinson Peete and her son Roman & Robinson. Photo by Shelly Valladolid ... as industry legend Frank Welker (who has voiced characters in both the "Transformers" animated series as well as the feature films ) ... Frank Welker at yesterday's event at Universal Studios Hollywood. Photo...(read more)

Disney Legend Alice Davis finally honored with her very own Window on Main Street

2012-05-14T14:07:00Z

So why exactly did so many reporters & photographers make a special trip out to Anaheim last Thursday? Was it because some star was making a special appearance at Disneyland Park ? Photo by Noe Valladolid Well, not a star per se. But -- rather seamstress to the stars, Disney Legend Alice Davis . Who spent much of the 1960s creating colorful costumes for the Audio-Animatronic figures found in " Flight to the Moon ," " Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress " and -- of course...(read more)

Disney Interactive Media Group wants you to come help playtest the Company's next video games

2012-05-10T14:17:00Z

Did you love Epic Mickey , Guilty Party or Disney Sing It ? Would you like a chance to play some of Disney Interactive 's games early, before they're released to the general public? Would you like to help keep Disney Interactive's games bug-free and fun to play? There's a little-known way to do so, if you fit the testing parameters. Simply go to disneyplaytesting.com and fill in your information (If you're ages 3-17, your pet grown-up has to do it for you). Copyright Disney Enterprises...(read more)

Sing Along with Mickey and Oswald in Epic Mickey 2: The Power of 2

2012-04-17T12:52:00Z

Disney Interactive Media Group and game designer, master storyteller and huge Disney geek Warren Spector announced the sequel to last year's Wii game " Disney Epic Mickey ," with some changes that fans will love - or hate. The problems with the camera that plagued Epic Mickey will be a thing of the past, and Oswald will be a playable, speaking character. Traditionalists may argue that since Oswald never had a voice in his Disney shorts, he shouldn't talk now. However, the majority...(read more)

Stars & D23 members come out for the LA premiere of "John Carter"

2012-02-24T13:41:00Z

Given that " John Carter " is mostly set on the red planet, it's only appropriate that the stars who attended Wednesday night's premiere of this Andrew Stanton film ... Photo by Shelly Valladolid ... walked down the red carpet at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live . Walt Disney Pictures really went all out for "John Carter" 's LA premiere. Persuading Academy Award-winners like Helen Mirren to come for this event ... Photo by Shelly Valladolid ... not to mention crafting a giant...(read more)

Disney Vacation Club offered suite incentives to those who bought points in Aulani this past weekend

2011-07-12T02:30:00Z

Though Southern California is over 2500 miles away from the island of Hawai'I, those who dropped by the Westin Pasadena this past weekend got a sample of that Aloha spirit ... Photo by Noe Valladolid ... by attending a DVC presentation about Aulani, that soon-to-open Disney Resort & Spa which is being built along a white-sand beach in Ko Olina. Photo by Noe Valladolid Guests arriving at the Westin Pasadena were initially directed to a function room ... Photo by Noe Valladolid ... where -...(read more)

Disney in-jokes make Goofy's Sky School great fun for animation history buffs

2011-06-27T03:04:00Z

The redo of Disney California Adventure Park is really coming together nicely. As you can see from these shots that Noe took yesterday, its Pan-Pacific-Auditorium-inspired entrance is getting closer & closer to completion. Photo by Noe Valladolid How close? A quick peek over that Disney-characters-from-the-1930s construction wall reveals that they're just about to begin laying this theme park's new paving stones. Photo by Noe Valladolid Over at the Redwood Challenge Creek Trail , the...(read more)