Latest news with #TomFitzgerald
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL Rumors: Devils Star Coming Up In Trade Talks
The New Jersey Devils have been busy this off-season. This was expected, as Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed that the Metropolitan Division club would be sporting a different roster for next season.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How Walt Disney Imagineering Brought Walt Disney To Life At Disneyland
'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' debuts at the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland Park in Anaheim, ... More Calif., on July 17, 2025. The attraction features a cinematic presentation of Walt Disney's journey, culminating in a visit with Walt in his office, made possible through the magic of Audio-Animatronics storytelling. (Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort) For 70 years, Disneyland has been welcoming guests into a world of make-believe, complete with robotic animals and historical figures from the past like Abraham Lincoln. But for the first time ever, Walt Disney Imagineering has built an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney, which debuted just in time for the park's official 70th anniversary on July 17, 2025. The figure is part of a new attraction taking over the Main Street Opera House called Walt Disney - A Magical Life. Behind the scenes with Walt Disney Imagineering A new marquee is on display outside of the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland Park in Anaheim, ... More Calif. The new attraction, 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life,' opens on July 17, 2025, and features a cinematic presentation of Walt Disney's journey, culminating in a visit with Walt in his office, made possible through the magic of Audio-Animatronics storytelling. After its initial run, 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' will play in rotation with 'Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.' (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort) This project has been in the works for years. In fact, Tom Fitzgerald, senior creative executive at WDI, shared that the team's first visit to Walt Disney's office was on July 17, 2018, the space of which is recreated in the show. 'It's been a long time coming, and we're excited to finally share this new version of the Walt Disney story with our guests,' said Fitzgerald. Walt Disney - A Magical Life starts with a short film about Disney's life from boyhood to building Disneyland and the start of buying land for Walt Disney World. Then the screen lifts and there's the Audio-Animatronics figure of Disney leaning against a desk in a recreation of his office. This version of Disney is at the height of his career around 1963. 'This was the first time that we've created an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney. We have done every president and we've done movie stars, but when you say, 'I want to do an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney,' that brings enormous responsibility, probably as much as Walt felt bringing Abraham Lincoln to life back for the New York World's Fair in 1964,' explained Fitzgerald. One of the most unique things about this show is that all of Disney's words are his own, and not generated by AI or a voice actor. 'Just as the speech that Lincoln gives [in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln] is made up of different pieces of speeches that he delivers, this section of Walt as an animatronic was made up of different things that he had done, like interviews, pieces from television, and other presentations that we had to seamlessly pull together so that it sounds as if he's right there speaking to you on stage,' said Fitzgerald. Partnering with The Walt Disney Family Museum TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ROB GLOSTER Amber Wagner (L), wearing black Mickey Mouse ears, leaves the ... More Walt Disney Family Museum, September 26, 2009 located in the Presidio of San Francisco, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area of the National Park Service. Her friends Vicki Schwirzke and Natalie Schwirzke follow her out. The first picture greeting visitors at the new Walt Disney Family Museum is not of Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck or even Snow White. It is a photo of a nine-month-old Walt Disney. And the last exhibit in the sleek museum, which opens to the public September 24, 2009 after more than six years of preparation, is a series of telegrams and cartoons mourning the death of Disney in 1966. AFP PHOTO/Peter LEMIEUX (Photo credit should read Peter Lemieux/AFP via Getty Images) Walt Disney - A Magical Life was created in partnership with The Walt Disney Family Museum. 'A few years ago, a group from the park and Imagineering flew out and met with the family to introduce this project in a very sensitive and appropriate way. And from there, the collaboration began,' explains Kirsten Komoroske, executive director of The Walt Disney Family Museum. One of the objects of particular interest was a bronze casting of Disney's hands, which included a cast of the rings he regularly wore. The cast was used to help create the Audio-Animatronics' hands, which feature rings on both of Disney's ring fingers. Additionally, The Walt Disney Family Museum and the Walt Disney Archives helped WDI with figuring out props for the recreation of Walt's office, including developing a match for Disney's briefcase that he carried daily, plus clothes for the Audio-Animatronics figure based on what Disney actually wore in his office and on screen for appearances. Advancing technology in the moment for Walt Disney - A Magical Life 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' debuts at the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland Park in Anaheim, ... More Calif., on July 17, 2025. The attraction features a cinematic presentation of Walt Disney's journey, culminating in a visit with Walt in his office, made possible through the magic of Audio-Animatronics storytelling. (Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort) One thing that helped bring Disney to life was the advancements in technology for Audio-Animatronics figures over the past few years. Even so, Imagineers didn't have everything they needed for the figure, so they had to create more advanced technology on a quick timeline, which WDI calls 'moonshots,' just for the Disney figure. An example of a moonshot for Walt Disney - A Magical Life is the eyes on the Audio-Animatronics figure, which was key to making it look like Disney himself. 'If you know Walt Disney, you know he had very expressive eyebrows, and they meant a lot of things. And that was not something that our animatronics figures were capable of doing,' said Fitzgerald. While watching the show, viewers will now notice how much movement and non-verbal cues are given with the Audio-Animatronics' eyebrows. Even more, many people who watched Disney on TV specials or met him in person often talked about the glint and gleam in his eyes. But again, that was something WDI had never done before, but for the team working on this project, it was a necessity to bring Disney to life in the most realistic way possible. Part of the research team realized the reason humans have that glint is because of the corneal bulge in the eyes. 'So physically, our figures have not had that before. And so they replicated a corneal bulge so that you will see when you look at him, you get that point in the eye, which is amazing,' explains Fitzgerald. Another first for Walt Disney - A Magical Life was having an Audio-Animatronics figure go from leaning to standing, which WDI had never done before. 'We wanted to replicate that feeling of watching him on television because he was often leaning on the desk,' said Fitzgerald. 'Because of those moonshots and all the work that was done, we really believe it's the most fluid performance of an Audio-Animatronics figure we've ever done.' Walt Disney - A Magical Life will eventually play in tandem with Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, the latter of which was a modern marvel at the time of its debut at the New York World's Fair in 1964. Now this new modern marvel featuring the most lifelike human Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney will continue to captivate Disneyland guests, just as Lincoln did in the 1960s.
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Disney adults left horrified over latest addition to Disneyland: 'Who did this?'
Disneyland visitors have been left horrified after the unveiling of a new hyper–realistic animatronic figure of Walt Disney. The robot is part of a brand new exhibit titled Walt Disney – A Magical Life - created to celebrate the life of the man who dreamed up the Happiest Place on Earth. Set to open on July 17 - the exact date Disneyland first opened in 1955 - the Disneyland Opera House on Main Street, USA, will transform into Walt's studio office. The experience features the Mickey Mouse creator walking around his personal study while addressing the crowd in a sharp gray suit and tie. Tom Fitzgerald - Senior Creative Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering - said everyone took 'great care' when crafting Walt's animatronic. 'We've created so many Audio-Animatronics figures over the years, from pirates to presidents, but to create a figure of Walt Disney is an honor and a challenge,' he said, per The Walt Disney Company. 'How can we create a lifelike impression of Walt Disney, with the nuances that made him unique in person? 'The twinkle in the eye, his expressive face — those eyebrows — and the way he used his hands to punctuate his thoughts and ideas?' Fitzgerald continued, saying that the Imagineers 'worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives to ensure we had the details as accurate as possible.' 'We scoured through his speeches and documents to find the words that would bring him to life in a way that would feel as if we dropped into his office for a chat,' he added. 'Our hope is that the end result will give guests the best sense of Walt and his engaging and warm personality.' Despite the attention to detail the Imagineers put into the robot, Disney adults feared the animatronic looked 'nothing' like the iconic man. One person said: 'They have to copy Walt Disney from Orlando's Madame Tussauds, that one is much better!' 'I thought it'd look better to be honest...' another reflected. Someone else questioned: 'They could have done better with the face. Who made this?' 'Looks like it was made by someone who was working from a rough description of what Walt looked like,' a commenter observed. Other comments read: 'Walt is having a terrible allergic reaction to shellfish, apparently,' and 'That looks very unlike Walt. Redo, please!' 'I like the idea of the Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic, however, the face is off,' someone wrote. 'I can't put my finger on it. It's something to do with how the eyes are, like, too close, maybe. Or maybe the face is too square-like? Something is off.' Despite the backlash, a few people were in awe at the technology. 'This is mind blowing!!' a user said, while another wrote, 'Woah, this is incredible.' Someone shared: 'Holy hell, that's an animatronic?! Looks real enough to fool me.' Another post showed the life-sized Walt standing from a leaning position, moving his arms and legs, and speaking to the crowd. More praised the robot, saying: 'The clothes even fit like a human fit. Impressive,' and 'The gestures and motions are by far the most natural looking I've ever seen. Daily Mail has contacted Disneyland for comment. Last month, Disney revamped the Donald Trump animatronic after outcry that he looked like a woman. The animatronic political attraction in Magic Kingdom discreetly opened its doors in June after being closed for five months. It shuttered on January 20 after Trump was inaugurated into his second term. The display shuts down after every presidential transition so Disney can update the show. Disney World did not announce the well-known display's sudden reopening - leaving both guests and employees confused. Other than Trump's animatronic having a speaking role, no major changes have been made to the mechanized performance.
Travel Weekly
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Animatronic Walt Disney stars in new Disneyland attraction
Walt Disney will return to the theme park he created in Southern California later this week thanks to Audio-Animatronics technology and the debut of the new attraction "Walt Disney — A Magical Life." The attraction will open on Thursday, July 17, the 70th anniversary of Disneyland, at the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland Park. It culminates in a visit with an Audio-Animatronics figure of the patriarch himself in his office, sharing stories and words of wisdom with guests. An exhibit about the history of Audio-Animatronics technology in the Main Street Opera House. Photo Credit: Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort "Creating this figure is an enormous responsibility and one that the team has taken very seriously, likely as seriously as Walt Disney did in creating the Audio-Animatronics figure of Abraham Lincoln so many decades ago," Tom Fitzgerald, senior creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, said in a release. "We hope to honor Walt through the art form that he pioneered, and that 'Walt Disney — A Magical Life' will be a permanent tribute here at Disneyland ... the only Disney park Walt ever walked in." While Disney said its teams of Imagineers have considered creating an animatronic of Walt for decades, this particular project has been in the works for seven years. The experience will begin in the lobby of the Opera House with the "Evolution of a Dream" exhibit, featuring art and artifacts related to Disneyland and its history. More than 30 artifacts featured are on loan from the Walt Disney Family Museum. That includes furniture from Walt's private apartment, which was located above the Town Square Fire Station, and has never been on display at Disneyland before. The lobby also features an exhibit detailing the history of Audio-Animatronics technology with figures from Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions. The 'Evolution of a Dream' exhibit in the Main Street Opera House. Photo Credit: Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort From there, guests will move into the theater for the film "One Man's Dream," then a "meeting" with Walt himself. Most advanced animatronic According to Disney, the Walt animatronic is the most lifelike Imagineering has ever created. It includes several firsts: a "twinkle in the eye," a "lean to stand" motion for an all-electric fin and realistic skin created with new methods. They studied Walt's mannerisms and movements to create the animatronic. To create his performance, they used dialogue actually spoken by Walt. His suit, shoes, tie and rings were meticulously researched, and he appears as he would have around 1963. The office was inspired by his office in Burbank, Calif. Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, portfolio executive creative producer with Walt Disney Imagineering, said Imagineering worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives and the Walt Disney Family Museum on the details of both Walt and his office. "Most importantly, we were passionate about creating an Audio-Animatronics figure designed specifically for this attraction, delivering a portrayal that has nuances, hand gestures, facial expressions and more — all of the attributes that make this figure's performance feel uniquely Walt and not simply creating a figure to look like Walt," Shaver-Moskowitz added. As guests leave the theater, they'll encounter another exhibit showing Disney's cast members at work over the years. A new mural celebrates Disneyland history and nods of what's to come. When it opens, "Walt Disney — A Magical Life" will employ a virtual queue. After the attraction's initial run, it will share the Opera House with the other attraction that it calls home, "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln." Imagineering redesigned the theater's stage with a rotating turntable, enabling both shows to play in the same location. Disney created the first Audio-Animatronics version of Abraham Lincoln in 1964. It debuted at the New York World's Fair before the show moved to Disneyland in 1965.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
What The NWSL Needs To Consider Moving Forward
Young Goaltender's Future Uncertain After Devils Re-Sign Allen Jake Allen wanted to remain a New Jersey Devil. Entering NHL Free Agency, the 34-year-old was a pending unrestricted free agent who was considered the best available goaltender. As it turned out, he wasn't available as the Devils re-signed him ahead of the official start of free agency. "It is exciting to have Jake back and his family back in New Jersey, where they wanted to be and where we wanted them," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "I give Jake and Shannon a lot of credit for helping us through this process, cap-wise. It just shows you that we are building something here where people want to stay. It says a lot about Jake and his family, and we are just so excited to bring him back."With Jacob Markstrom under contract for one more year, New Jersey will run it back with its veteran tandem, which was one of the best in the league in the 2024-25 season. Of course, after signing Allen to a five-year, $9 million contract with an average annual value of $1.8 million, one question remains: What is the long-term plan for Nico Daws? 2:02 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
