The Lion King – Live-Action Remake

The Lion King – Live-Action Remake

There is very exciting news that was officially released from Disney studios. Disney and director Jon Favreau are working on a live-action remake of one of the studio’s most popular animated films, The Lion King!

Disney has amazed us with their recent live-action remakes. Some of these include, The Jungle Book, Maleficent, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, which is coming out in 2017. What makes the Lion King even more unique is that it will feature the original soundtrack. So now you can sing along to these classic tunes the same way you remembered them.

“We can officially confirm that The Walt Disney Studios and director Jon Favreau are putting a new reimagining of the Lion King on the fast track to production. The project follows the technologically groundbreaking smash hit The Jungle Book, directed by Favreau, which debuted in April and has earned $965.8 million worldwide,” the company said in a press release.

The original Lion King debuted in 1994. This was one of the biggest animated films of all time. Which included many awards and nominations. It grossed at $968.8 million, including $422.8 million domestically, according to Disney. Now we have to see if this re-make will be even more successful, we sure hope it is. Although there is no exact release date, the debut is anticipated for early 2017. Is this something you are looking forward to, because just like Simba, we can’t wait!

Written by: Sandra Costanzo

Selena Gomez lights up the stage at the Barclay Center.

Selena Gomez lights up the stage at the Barclay Center.

The lights dimmed and in a blink of an eye, the princess of pop had taken the stage. And yes, we are talking about Selena Gomez here. Last week, she had made a stop at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn as a part of her Revival Tour. DNCE and Bea Miller also made an appearance to kick off the start of an amazing show.

Selena performed a majority of songs from her most recent album, which is titled Revival. Some of the hits that she performed included, “Kill Em with Kindness”, “Good For You”, “Me & My Girls” and “Nobody”. She also performed some throwback tunes including, “Who Says” and “Come and Get It”.  From the glittery costumes to the dance routines, there was never a dull moment throughout the entire show.

Over the past few years, Selena has gone through many rough patches. Including her extremely public breakup and also being diagnosed with lupus. This tour meant a lot to her and her confidence had made it clear that this was in fact, her revival. “This show is so centered around me, and I mean that in a way of confidence, of strength,” Gomez says. “It has a beautiful feel to it, but it is about me, so if I wanted to come in one day and say I want to change [a song in the show] or add this, I can do that. That’s the first time I’ve ever really been able to do that in my life. And I feel, I feel great about it. It’s not me making sure I hit all the dance moves. There’s so much I want to prove to myself for this tour and it’s just based on me, it’s based on my voice, it’s based on what I say to my crowd,” she adds. “That’s all I really want.”

Selena is also taking this tour to bring awareness to lupus. She will be donating the proceeds from each ticket sold to the Alliance for Lupus Research. “Based in New York, ALR (Alliance for Lupus Research) is a national voluntary health organization whose mission is to find better treatments and ultimately prevent lupus. Gomez’s camp says ALR was selected because of its broad reach. Gomez revealed her lupus diagnosis in a 2015 Billboard cover story.” With the success of her current tour and with all of her future plans, Selena is definitely taking the world by storm.

Get the inside scoop on Disney dining!

Get the inside scoop on Disney dining!

 

The only thing that can make a Disney vacation more magical is the perfect Disney dining. From character dining to quick service to even snacks. I am going to tell you my top favorites from Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida.

Meeting the characters is always one of my favorite parts of any Disney trip. And what makes it even better is dining with the characters. My absolute favorite character dining is the Best Friends Breakfast at O`hana, in the Polynesian Village Resort. From the moment you walk in, you’ll feel like you are on a Hawaiian roller coaster ride with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. This delicious breakfast is served family style and is loads of fun. My second favorite character dining is the 1900 Park Fare located at the Grand Floridian. The dining time depends on what characters will be there.  During the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast, you’ll be joined by Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. This all you care to enjoy buffet is filled with scrumptious treats such as fluffy pancakes, Mickey waffles, fruit, omelets and so much more. The dinner here is even more decadent as you dine like royalty. You will join Cinderella and Prince Charming as their guest of honor. Their royal friends are also sure to be in attendance. My third favorite character dining experience is the Crystal Palace located in the Magic Kingdom. You’ll feel like you are in the Hundred Acre Woods with Pooh and his friends. All of the food is fantastic but I must say, the mac and cheese is the best. There are so many other dining experiences that Disney World has to offer. It`s hard to choose which ones to pick for your visit.

            Next up is the quick service. These are perfect for an action packed day that leaves little room for a full sit down meal. The one quick service that I always make sure to do is at, Be Our Guest. This is my favorite quick service location in Magic Kingdom. The main dining room is absolutely gorgeous and it looks like the exact one from Beauty and the Beast. The meal that I always get is the Croque Monsieur. And you can`t forget to try the “grey” stuff because it`s delicious. No matter how many times I go there, I always leave singing Be Our Guest from the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack for the rest of the day. My second favorite quick service is also in the Magic Kingdom and that is, Casey’s Corner. This old fashioned hot dog joint is the perfect stop before catching the Festival of Fantasy parade. My favorite hotdog from there is the barbeque slaw dog. My third favorite quick service location is basically anywhere in the World Showcase in Epcot. But the Tangierine Café is definitely number one for me. The best dish there is the Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter.

 

Now on to the snacks! Everything is better Mickey shaped and at Walt Disney World you’ll find a lot of that. My all-time favorite snack is the classic Mickey shaped ice cream. Other amazing mickey shaped snacks are, the giant Mickey chocolate chip cookie, a Mickey pretzel and Mickey lollipops. Some other classic snacks include Dole Whip and turkey legs. With all of this amazing food at Walt Disney World, there is no way that you will ever be hungry.

 

 

 

 

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!! Not only do we celebrate Earth Day all year long here at .C.H. Edwards,inc., but so does Disney! Especially at Disney`s Animal Kingdom. I am going to share with you some fun facts about our lovely earth, along with fun facts straight from Disney.

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22,1970. Ever since then it has brought more and more awareness each year. On the very first Earth Day, 20 million people gathered in the streets of America to protest the industrial revolution. An environmental movement was born as a result. Even though the intention of the day was not to create Earth Day, it led to a tradition that is still kept up today. This all goes back to Gaylord Nelson. This is because he founded Earth Day while working as a US senator.

Now on to the Disney facts! Although Disney is considered to be very Eco-friendly, lets focus more on Animal Kingdom. This is because Animal Kingdom is Disney World`s largest theme mark, measured at 500-acres. This massive park is also the only Disney Park dedicated just to wildlife conservation.  A little-known secret to look out for is the highway sign in Dinoland, which says “Route 498”, this is in reference to Earth Day when the park was officially opened (April 1998). Disney is actually filled with many Eco-friendly features including The Tree of Life, which is something you can’t miss as soon as you walk in the park. This major feature of the park is a massive 14 stories (145-foot tall, 160-foot wide) “tree”, which was made out of an old oil barrel, and allegedly took 10 artists and 3 Disney imagineers to create the 325 carvings on the tree, which took about 18 months, working full-time. And last but not least, we can’t forget about the Kilimanjaro Safari! The Kilimanjaro Safari savannah is 3 acres larger than the Magic Kingdom. That’s one ride, that’s larger than an entire theme park. The park itself is five times the size of the Magic Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom parking lot is almost 100 acres large. Kilimanjaro Safari is one of my favorite attractions in the park. No matter how many times you go on it, you never know which animals will be out. My favorite is the giraffes. I’ve even seen them come right up the safari vehicle!

Make sure to enjoy the outdoors today and do something that gives back to the environment. Something as easy as recycling or planting a plant can make such a difference. Happy Earth Day!

 

 

Officer Hopps is here for duty and to save Zootopia

Officer Hopps is here for duty and to save Zootopia

From the largest elephant to the smallest bunny, the city of Zootopia is a place where all mammals come to live and thrive. This mammal metropolis might seem like a fairytale land but every city has its crime.  In this case it is up to the Zootopia police to keep this city as safe as can be. Despite the obstacles faced, Judy Hopps defeated the odds by becoming the first bunny cop. It doesn’t take long for her to realize how tough the police force would be. This very eager bunny is determined to prove herself and solve one of the toughest cases in the city. Her journey faces many twists and turns as she is accompanied by her self-picked partner, Nick Wilde. This 3-D phenomenon is perfect for audiences of all ages. I even enjoyed it this past weekend myself! Grab your popcorn and 3- D glasses because this is something you don’t want to miss.

The flowers have sprung at the Disney Flower and Garden Festival!

The flowers have sprung at the Disney Flower and Garden Festival!

Spring has sprung and so have the flowers at Disney World`s Flower and Garden Festival.  This festival of flowers, food and fun will run from March 2nd, 2016 to May 30,2016 and is definitely something to add to your Disney bucket list.

Characters and iconic Disney scenes come to life as Epcot transforms to a garden wonderland.  These 90 days at Epcot will be filled with classic traditions of the festival along with new ones. Some exciting things you’ll find is the Garden Rocks Concert Series. This series includes Darlene Love and The Georgia Satellites, as well as returning favorites. There will also be a new kids play ground called The Harmony Gardens Musical Playground. You’ll also find new outdoor kitchens and also new menu items. The two newest kitchens include La Isla Fresca serving up Jamaican food along with the Cider House. These two new kitchens will join the 11 other booths serving up all kinds of delicious foods from the World Showcase. And you’ll also see flowers galore. From themed flower gardens to topiaries to life size figurines of Disney characters!

If you think this flower crazy event is unbelievable, here are three fun facts that will blow your mind. The first fun fact is more than 500,000 plants, trees and shrubs are planted for the festival; 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed for the festival. The second fun fact is Festival plants include 60 different species of trees, 47 types of palms, and 48 varieties of bedding plants. And the last fun fact is it takes more than one full year and about 24,000 cast member hours to prepare for the annual festival.

What can be better than spring, flowers in the shapes of Disney characters, scrumptious food and great music? This year’s Flower and Garden Festival has that all covered for you and more. If you are heading down to Disney this Spring, this is definitely something worth seeing.

Disney Pin Trading

Disney Pin Trading

Are you looking for a way to make your IMG_5548next trip to Disney a little more magical? Have you ever tried pin trading? With all the collections and series to choose from, there are pins out there for everybody. And what makes it even more fun is that you get to interact with the cast members while trading. Each cast member at every merchandise location has a full lanyard of new pins. They are always excited to trade with you and sometimes they even make a game out of it. If you see a pin with the back facing forward then you found a mystery pin. Depending on the cast member you can either choose that pin or answer a trivia question to see it. Whether it’s a mystery pin or a visible pin, it’s always fun to find all the pins you need to collect the set.

Even though the cast members are always eager to trade and interact with you. There are always rules to this fun filled game. Here are the top 7 rules to remember while pin trading.

1. Make sure to ask the cast member to see their lanyard without touching or grabbing their land yard without permission.

2. Don’t feel obligated to trade. If they don’t have a pin you need, it’s okay! Just thank them anyway.

3. If you would like to trade, tell the cast member which one you need and which one you are trading.

4. There is a limit of 2 pins per trade.

5. Make sure to put the pin back on the pin before handing it to the cast member. This prevents anyone from getting poked.

6. Keep your hand open so the cast member can place the pin on your hand without dropping it.

7. Thank the cast member for the trade and they will do the same.

Pin trading is fun for all ages and the perfect way to interact with the cast. You can purchase starter packs of pins that come with lanyards at most merchandise locations. You can also buy individual pins and lanyards. There are also pin specific locations in each park that have exclusive pins. Next time you are in Disney, don’t forget to check out the pin trading works. Happy trading!

Written By: Sandra Costanzo