THE CREATIVE MINDS BEHIND DISNEY’S NEWEST LAND GIVE DISNEY TWENTY-THREE AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE SPECTACULAR ADDITION TO DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

PLUS, EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE NEW CREW OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES, THOR: RAGNAROK’S CHRIS HEMSWORTH, AND THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND CARS 3

Disney twenty-three will take readers 4.4 light years away to visit the breathtaking Pandora – The World of Avatar. Opening at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on May 27, this new land will transport guests into the epic creations first seen in James Cameron’s 2007 blockbuster, Avatar. Readers will set out on a behind-the-scenes look at Pandora with the creative team responsible for this unprecedented project, including Walt Disney Imagineering’s Joe Rohde, Cameron, and Avatar producer Jon Landau. “We didn’t build sets of all this stuff when we made the movie. It was all in a computer,” James Cameron remarked in an exclusive interview with Disney twenty-three. “So, to be able to walk around it in full-scale? It’s unfathomable. We’re literally on Pandora! I’m on Pandora! It was a pinch-me moment to ensure I was really awake and actually in the world we had created.”

In addition to the cover featuring Pandora – The World of Avatar, the summer issue, exclusively for Gold Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, has a second, spine-tingling cover with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Javier Bardem and Kaya Scodelario reveal what it was like to join the Pirates crew, as they set sail on an all-new adventure with Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom. Cars newcomer Cristela Alonzo talks about joining the high-octane franchise. And Chris Hemsworth shares what it’s like going head-to-head with Hulk in this fall’s Thor: Ragnarok.

Walt Disney Imagineering’s Steven Davison and Kim Irvine give readers a first look at the triumphant return ofFantasmic! and Disneyland’s Rivers of America; enjoy a tour of Duckburg with the creative team behind the upcoming reimagined DuckTales for Disney XD; and return to the beautiful art of Bambi in honor of its 75th anniversary year, created by Disney Legend Tyrus Wong and other influential Disney artists.

Also included in the summer issue of Disney twenty-three:

  • A tour of Golden Oak Ranch, one of Disney’s most storied filming locations
  • Popular Disney myths busted
  • A celebration of Disney’s most innovative films, attractions, and experiments
  • A toy-filled edition of “From the Desk of” as we tour John Lasseter’s office at Pixar Animation Studios
  • Regular features including A Walk with Walt, D Society, and Ask Dave

Plus, all D23 Gold Members will receive a Na’vi translator card featuring the Shaman of Songs, the character featured on the attraction Na’vi River Journey. This card is a collectible on its own and, when used with the Na’vi language translator device (available at Pandora this summer), will tell the guest how to say the words in the Na’vi language.

Disney twenty-three, which is delivered directly to fans’ doorsteps, is offered exclusively to D23 Gold and Gold Family Members as a benefit of their membership. The latest issue will begin arriving in mid-May.