One thing I forgot to mention earlier in the week is that Project Tomorrow inside Innoventions is actually closed. It’s not known when it’ll will re-open, according to what a cast member said to me. My guess is that they’re installing some of the exhibits recently installed in Walt Disney World’s Project Tomorrow, such as Innervision, & that they need to close the whole thing to install a new exhibit, as it is much smaller than WDW’s.
A few days ago, we broke news on exactly what is coming to the first floor of Disneyland Park’s Innoventions. Well, WTOPnews has recently posted an article with more information on the new “House of the Future”:
Millions of Disneyland visitors lined up a half-century ago to catch a glimpse of the future: a home teeming with mind-blowing gadgets such as handsfree phones, wall-sized televisions, plastic chairs, and electric razors and toothbrushes. The “House of the Future,” a pod-shaped, all-plastic dwelling that quickly seemed quaint closed its doors a decade later. Now Disney is set to open a new abode in Tomorrowland – this time in partnership with 21st century technology giants.
The 5,000-square-foot home scheduled to open in May will look like a normal suburban home outside, but inside it will feature hardware, software and touch-screen systems that could simplify everyday living.
Lights and thermostats will automatically adjust when people walk into a room. Closets will help pick out the right dress for a party. Countertops will be able to identify groceries set on them and make menu suggestions.
The $15 million home is a collaboration of The Walt Disney Co., Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison.
Visitors will experience the look of tomorrow by watching Disney actors playing a family of four preparing for a trip to China.
“It’s much different than a spiel that you would get at a trade show,” said Dave Miller, director of alliance development for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. “We won’t get into the bits and the bytes. It will be about the digital lifestyle and how that lifestyle can help you.”
The actors will be in a flurry of cooking, packing and picture-taking designed to emphasize cutting-edge features in the home’s two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, study and back yard.
Much of the project will showcase a network that makes the house “smart” and follows family members from room to room – even adjusting artwork – to preset personal preferences.
When a resident clicks a TV remote, for example, lights will dim, music will shut off and the shades will draw as the network realizes a movie is about to start.
The system will allow residents to transfer digital photos, videos and music among televisions and computers in different rooms at the click of a button. Other applications still in development could include touch-screen technology built into appliances, furniture and countertops, said Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s vice president for entertainment services.
In the kitchen, for example, touchpad software on the countertop would be able to identify groceries and produce recipes and meal suggestions. Similar programs could turn a desktop into a computer screen, allowing residents to load photos, music or e-mail onto a cell phone by placing it on the desk.
Mirrors and closets could identify clothes and suggest matching outfits, complimentary colors or track what apparel is at the cleaners or in the wash.
The home will also feature new uses for devices that many visitors may already own, as well as technologies that are still five or 10 years down the road, said Mike Seamons, vice president of marketing at LifeWare, which makes home automation software.
“If people walk through there and say, ‘I don’t have anything in this house at all,’ then we’ve totally failed,” Seamons said. “We’re not waiting for robots to happen in order for it to be a reality.”
When it comes to aesthetics, designers decided to stray from the Jetsons-style House of the Future – an all-plastic cross design with four wing-shaped bays that appeared to float. The house was so tough that wrecking balls bounced off it when Disney ripped it down in 1967.
The new home will be made of wood and steel and finished in muted browns and beiges, said Sheryl Palmer, president and chief executive of Taylor Morrison in North America.
“The 1950s home didn’t look like anything, anywhere. It was space-age and kind of cold,” she said. “We didn’t want the (new) home to intimidate the visitors. We want the house to be real accessible to our guests.”
Let’s take a look at some various things going on through-out the Disneyland Resort from this week’s Dateline Disneyland on MiceAge:
The Harbor Blvd. entrance to the resort is closed due to electrical work for the DCA & Grand Californian expansions
The Pixar Play Parade sign at the Mickey & Friends Tram Station is getting some work done
A copy of the Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters mural has been added to the Segway Experience in Innoventions. Talk about originality!
Here’s a better look at the new Build Your Own Lightsaber stand inside Star Traders
The exit waterfall at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is getting some extensive work done
The hot dog/turkey leg stand opposite Toy Story Midway Mania is to be known as Don Tomas
Let’s take a look at the latest happenings from through-out the Disneyland Resort from the latest DLR Update on DisneyGeek:
Apparently a tram damaged this sign a little
This new feature in Project Tomorrow is basically the new finale to Epcot’s Spaceship Earth. Your picture is taken, embedded into the animated scene, & then you can send that scene to your email (much like in Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters)
A temporary stage has been put up in Paradise Pier for some event (anyone know what it is?)
The never used extended queue for MuppetVision 3D is being converted in to seating for Award Wieners
The Snow White exhibit has been removed. It’s much nicer now, isn’t it?
