Bible: Numbers 22:22-35, Genesis 22:1-18, Luke 2:3-7, Matthew 21:1-11 Replacing Country Bear Jamboree (Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom and Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland) in Bible World is Bible Donkey Jamboree. Universal isn’t the only one that can showcase a talking donkey! Inspired by Balaam’s she-donkey (named “Dawdler” in the show) in the Bible who speaks, the show also features the donkeys that journeyed with Abraham (“Trusty”), Mary and Joseph (“Meekly”), and Jesus (“Palmy”). Like the Country Bears, the Bible Donkeys stand on their back legs. The songs are generally upbeat country songs, but Trusty’s first song is slow and sad. The show opens with all of the donkeys (and the other animals) singing about life as a donkey. Next, Dawdler sings about the time she spoke in the Bible. As described in the Book of Numbers, Balaam was a prophet who was asked twice by King Balak to curse the Israelites. He apparently agrees to do it out of greed even though God had told him not to. As he sets out on Dawdler with the king’s men, God sends an angel (with sword drawn) to redirect Balaam three times. Each time, Dawdler sees the angel and stops forward progress. As a result, Balaam beats Dawdler three times. God then gave Dawdler the ability to speak, “Why did you beat me three times?! You have ridden me for several years and I’ve never behaved like this.” And the angel said to Balaam, “If your donkey had not turned from me I would have killed you.” And then Balaam realized he had sinned. Trusty’s first song describes how the elderly father Abraham leads his only son Isaac up a mountain to sacrifice him as recounted in Genesis 22. Trusty bears the wood for the sacrifice until they get near the altar (and then Isaac bears it). Just as Abraham is about to strike Isaac, they all heard a voice from Heaven say, “Stop! Do not lay a finger on the child!” Abraham discovers a ram caught in the thickets that he sacrifices instead of his son. Trusty’s second, more cheerful song is a celebration of being there when God gave a special blessing to Abraham and his descendants because of his obedience. Meekly’s song is one of expectation. She is the donkey that the pregnant Mary sat on (according to tradition, as the transportation mode is not mentioned in the Bible) as she and Joseph journey to the town of David (Bethlehem) for the census. Meekly sings of their tenderness and gentleness as they made the journey. In her second song, she describes how there was no room at any of the places that Mary and Joseph tried to get lodging at. In the end, they find a cave with a manger. It is there that Jesus is born. Other animals--including oxen, sheep, and cows--join in on the singing, too. Palmy sings a ballad about how Jesus rode on him into Jerusalem for Passover, what would be His Last Passover. Everyone gave them a royal welcome--even laying their cloaks and palm branches at his hooves. Palmy’s second song is about how the world was changed that Holy Week--with Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. All of the donkeys give a reprise of their opening number.
As you can see, this would be a fun, family-focused show that is in keeping with the spirit of Country Bears Jamboree.
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With Universal Beijing about to open on September 20th, it is fun to think about where the next big theme park resort will spring up! Certainly a lot of individual projects on the Imagineering Forum have been put forward as to what a Disney resort would look like in other countries around the world (e.g. South Korea, Canada, Sweden, etc.). This thread will consider those options (as well as others). Criterion will be established and explained so that an objective-as-possible rating can be determined for each location.
Below are several criteria that will be used in the rankings. Can you think of others? Popularity of IPs in country Whether initial discussions have taken place to build a top-tier resort Population within an hour Land available Travel time to Airport Distance from other top-tier theme park Country’s GDP Willingness of Government to Negotiate Weather Here is the current listing of international Disney and Universal theme parks: Tokyo Disneyland (1983) Disneyland Paris (1992) Universal Studios Japan (March 2001, Osaka) Tokyo DisneySea (September 2001) Walt Disney Studios Paris (2002) Hong Kong Disneyland (2005) Universal Studios Singapore (2008) Shanghai Disneyland (2016) Universal Studios Beijing (September 20, 2021) Although Disney has finished every resort it has started, some of the Opening Days were disastrous (like at Disneyland Paris when Michael Eisner left the stage after being pelted with tomatoes). Universal, on the other hand, seems to be a bit trigger-happy when it comes to building new parks. Still listed on its future theme parks section on Wikipedia is Universal Studios Moscow. Although this indoor park was thought to originally open in 2022, the lack of buzz makes it seem like it might be dead in the water. Universal has green-lit several projects only to cancel them later: Universal Studios Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Broke ground 2008, no construction since 2009) Universal Studios Germany, Krefeld (near Cologne), Germany Universal Studios South Korea, Hwaseong (near Seoul), South Korea Universal Studios also bought a park near Barcelona Spain that operated under a name like “Universal’s Port Aventura” from 1999-2004 until it was sold off. Whether initial discussions have taken place to build a top-tier resort Comes from Building Magic: Disney’s Overseas Theme Parks by William Silvester Climate Large Labor Force Strong Tourist Base Willingness of Locals to Negotiate The book “Building Magic: Disney’s Overseas Theme Parks” by William Silvester talks about how the international Disney parks came to fruition. The book also discusses some possible locations for future Disney resorts, especially based on publicity. First I will list here locations that were basically rumors (with year of rumor) and did not have much merit: Philippines (2016)—hoax Brazil (Curitiba, 2010)—rumor Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls)—rumor And now the locations that did receive greater consideration, especially in the research for Euro Disney: Spain (Alicante and Barcelona) Great Britain—biggest plot was 300 acres Italy—mountainous Germany—but Germans prefer to vacation elsewhere Australia (Disney Wharf at Sydney Harbor, 2007) India (2014) South Korea (2005)—mostly leverage for Shanghai and Hong Kong Robert Nyles of “Theme Park Insider” did some research to come up with three possible locations for the next Disney resort—Chongqing (in southwest China), Beijing, and Seoul. Factors that he considered included population data, income data, growth patterns, and the sites of current Disney and competing theme parks. The late Harrison “Buzz” Price used similar criteria to help Walt Disney select Anaheim and Orlando for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. For more information, check out his posts: https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201805/6092/ https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201805/6094/ Having a pleasant climate can be very helpful for the long term success of a theme park. Ideally a theme park would not have many very hot days, cold days, or heavy rain days. The STC Climate Index (see https://globalresidenceindex.com/hnwi-index/climate-index/) gives 190 cities worldwide a score between 1.00 and 0.00 (a score of 1.00 means a very pleasurable climate). The city with the best climate is Dakhla, Morrocco with a score of 0.96. The city with the worst climate is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; it scored 0.02. Listed below are cities either with a top theme park or potentially in consideration for one: Los Angeles—0.93 Mexico City—0.88 Barcelona—0.76 Sydney—0.74 Sao Paulo—0.73 Buenos Aires—0.72 Rome—0.71 Bangalore—0.66 Vienna—0.65 Rio de Janeiro—0.56 Paris—0.55 Dubai—0.54 Geneva—0.54 Beijing—0.53 Amsterdam—0.52 Seoul—0.50 Shanghai—0.49 Hong Kong—0.49 Tokyo—0.48 London—0.48 Chongqing, China—0.48 Toronto—0.46 Berlin—0.46 Taipei—0.45 Stockholm—0.37 Singapore—0.20 (Posted on the WDWMagic Imagineering Forum)
It is easy to see that Imagineering, like other arts, generates a lot of creativity. But Imagineering can also help them to grow in virtues. As outlined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, a virtuous person is one who has ideal character traits. As with any hobby, there are many virtues that Imagineers (either professional or amateur) can grow in through their work. Although Imagineering is not a sport (one does not engage in physical exercise by doing it), the virtues that one can grow in our similar to that of a sport. This is especially the case in Imagineering competitions where individuals often work in teams against other teams. As with any competition, the goal is to win. Players agree to rules so that the play is fair. First and foremost, Imagineering competitions require sacrifice (just like sports). A person can maybe procrastinate on some tasks and shortcut others, but there’s a minimum amount of time and effort needed to put forward a good project. An Imagineer at times may need to delay or forego things like sleep, food, or TV shows they want to see so that their portion of the project gets completed in time. One of the greatest motivators in an Imagineering competition is a task that a person is passionate for. Passion can be a bigger factor in a win than things like realism, presentation style, or even teamwork. Outside of Imagineering, it’s a good reminder that the ways we spend our time should be something we are passionate about. Most people are passionate about family and friends, although some people could probably use reminders from time to time to prioritize those relationships. Imagineering also can help one to foster obedience. Most team projects involve a Team Leader. Somebody could have the best idea ever but if the Team Leader chooses something else, it’s time to shift focus to what has been chosen. Imagineers also have to listen well to their teammates, to take their suggestions to heart and incorporate them into the design. Another fruit of Imagineering is discipline. Anybody can be focused on a project for a day but to stay focused for a week requires discipline. Humility is also a virtue that Imagineers grow in. When their ideas are rejected, it’s difficult to not take it personally. When the team loses, it’s hard to not feel deflated. And when an individual is eliminated from a competition, it is easy to become sad. But all of those disappointments can be used for good. And every Imagineer (unless you’re a perfect player like @Outbound…just kidding!) is going to have occasions to grow in humility. The ideas for many of these virtues comes from the late Pope John Paul the Second (1920-2005, Pope from 1978-2005). He believed that the attributes required (through growth in virtue) to become a champion in a sport were similar (in many respects) to those required to become a saint. Through the various ups and downs of the Imagineering competitions, may we all aim for growing in virtue as well as supporting each other along the way! le: Genesis 2:4-4:16 In my Bible World project, the Adam and Eve Family Treehouse replaces The Swiss Family Treehouse (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris) and Tarzan’s Treehouse (Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland). It is located in the Miraculous Kingdom’s Old Testament land. The Treehouse (arbor mortalitatis) takes place after the Fall (a.k.a. the Original Sin of Adam and Eve). As such, Adam and Eve have been banished from the Garden of Eden so that they do not eat from the Tree of Life. Although there aren’t the numbers and types of plant life as in the Garden, the land is still rather rich. Adam and Eve’s children Cain and Abel are children at this time. As to be expected, they all wear clothes (prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve had been “naked and without shame”). Their first clothing was loincloths (sewn-together fig leaves) that God had provided (3:7). The second set of clothing was leather garments made by God presumably from some of the animals in the Garden. There are a number of “mementos” from the Garden. Guests can look at an animal-skin (i.e. parchment) “book” in which Adam has drawn many of the animals he has encountered and the names he gave each. The pages are made of plastic so they will last long as set pieces. Adam has made a replica fruit (sculpture) of the one from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which looks like a pomegranate (note: the Bible never mentions what type of fruit it was, although it probably wasn’t an apple). In the Treehouse are also items related to their daily work. The division of labor is similar to the division of labor in Jesus’ childhood home where Joseph worked as a carpenter and Mary was tasked with forming Jesus at home. In the first family, Adam would probably have been tasked with hunting and gathering (see 2:17-19, where it describes “by the sweat of your face”). Hence, there are primitive tools such as wooden spears and stone hammers found in the Treehouse Eve would have been the homemaker, so empty coconuts with water and wooden spoons are found in the kitchen area. The firstborn, Cain, is a farmer, so some tools with produce growing next to the Treehouse are seen (4:2). Abel, the secondborn, is given a pen for keeping the flocks (4:2). Perhaps the most surprising (and least spoken of) of the saints in Heaven are Saints Adam and Eve. Although not specifically mentioned in the Bible, Catholic tradition holds that after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, they repented of their sins and died in friendship with God. Saints are given a particular “feast day” (e.g. Saint Patrick’s is March 17th); Saints Adam and Eve’s is December 24th (a.k.a. Christmas Eve).
Adam and Eve’s Family Treehouse gives guests the opportunity to see how primative living might have been like while also making connections to what is understood about the first humans, especially from the Bible. |
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