At the start of the week, it seemed like Comic-Con might be producing the all the big announcements, and while they’ve had noteworthy releases, Disney caught us off guard with a few of their stories. Here’s some of the big stuff that happened this week.
Happy 63rd Birthday, Disneyland
On July 17th, the Happiest Place on Earth celebrated its 63rd birthday! The original park — and the one Walt walked in — has provided magical and imaginative experiences for guests of all ages and has nurtured an incredible fan base. To mark the special occasion, Disneyland presented The Happiest March on Earth, where Disneyland Ambassadors, the Dapper Dans, and 63 character friends paraded through the park. Check out our video and see how many friends you recognize!
San Diego Comic-Com
If you’ve been following any type of social media this week, then we’re sure you’ve got all the Comic-Con information you need. So, we’ll keep this brief and share our four favorite announcements from event (which is still going on).
- Don Cheadle will voice Donald Duck in an upcoming episode on this season of DuckTales. Plus, The Three Caballeros will make an appearance next season!
- Cloak & Dagger will return for a 10-episode second season next spring. If you haven’t checked it out, what are you waiting for? The Freeform show is one of Marvel Television’s best yet.
- Mickey Mouse’s Official 90th Birthday Portrait was revealed. The mouse that started it all can be seen floating above Earth holding a bunch of balloons and sprinkling pixie dust.
- Saving the best for last, The Clone Wars have been saved and will return on next year on Disney’s direct to consumer streaming service!
‘Olu Will Make His Global Debut on July 27
Duffy the Disney Bear has just made a new friend and the world is about to meet him. ‘Olu is a turtle who plays the ukulele and will be joining the rest of the pals on July 27th at Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawai’i.
Guardians of the Galaxy Director Fired After Old Tweets Resurface
In a shocking reveal on Friday morning, Disney announced that they are severing ties with director James Gunn after tweets from nearly a decade ago resurfaced. The controversial tweets touched on such topics such as pedophilia and rape. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said, “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him.” Gunn responded saying, “Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then,” also explaining that he considered himself a provocateur earlier in his career.
“a bug’s land” Will Close on September 4th
Disney can be sneaky sometimes. Case in point, this week the Disney Parks Blog posted about Pixar Fest experiences guests can enjoy. While this appeared as noting extra special, the last paragraph contained a brief sentence announcing the official closing date of the land. Guests will have through September 4th to say goodbye to Flik, Tuck and Roll, Dot, and Heimlich.
Other Stories of Note
July 17th was World Emoji Day. To celebrate, we created a quiz! Can you guess the Disney movies just by emojis? Disney Emoji Blitz was in the giving spirit for the special day. Players who logged into the game received one free character.
Her Universe debuts the Destination Disney Collection. Three winners from the 2017 Comic-Con Geek Couture fashion show at designed collections inspired by Disney Princesses.
Linda Cohn signs new deal with ESPN. The SportsCenter anchor will remain with ESPN network and will contribute to more NHL coverage on ESPN and ESPN+.
Disneyland Paris Introduces Disney Access One Paid FastPass Option. The new offering allows guests to purchase individual FastPasses with no designated return time.
Paula Faris Leaving The View and Weekend GMA. The host will remain with the network and will take on new roles with ABC News.