Last evening, a promotional video uploaded to the Walt Disney World YouTube page popped up featuring a giant Luxo, Jr. Ball (or Pixar Ball) rolling through the streets asking us to #FollowTheBall.
So, what is it and when can we find out more? First, watch the video (embedded below) and then read how you can participate during tonight’s Oscars pre-show.
What a cool promotional video — did you catch all the Toy Story real-life Easter Eggs? Andy wearing the Triple-R Ranch shirt, theater marquees now showing, “Mr. Angry Eyes” and “Star Commander,” the real-life Jessie and Stinky Pete (sitting along Route 66). Did you spot any more?
HOW TO PARTICIPATE & OUR PREDICTIONS
What we’re being told is to make sure you send a tweet to @WaltDisneyWorld (listing your State and the #FollowTheBall hashtag) to reveal a big surprise about the opening of Toy Story Land (June 30, 2018) during the Oscars pre-show tonight, March 4 (times & streaming options below). We’re curious as to how it will work, but we have a few predictions.
First, we think it will be a custom animation of the Pixar Ball (from the State you replied with) rolling towards Florida before revealing a sneak peek of Toy Story Land. This would be even more awesome if it was an Augmented Reality video that you could record of yourself running down the street with the ball!
Second, we also thought that there could be a tour like there was for Cars 3 (the Road to the Races tour). The Road to the Races tour brought life-sized versions of Lightning McQueen, Cruz Ramirez, and Jackson Storm to close to 30 cities leading up to the Cars 3 premiere.
It would be great if there was a similar promotion for the States that had the highest engagement with the hashtag. We could envision Pixar bringing a huge ball to those States, selling promotional gear, and providing exclusive inside-looks at Toy Story Land. Of course, the ball would arrive at Toy Story Land in Orlando, Florida on June 30 for the opening.
As much as we really love the idea of a Pixar Ball tour, we think it will be more of a fun map animation with promotional details. The Oscars pre-show (when the Follow The Ball promotion will take place) starts at 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT and can be streamed online using the ABC app, ABC.com, or will air on ABC. The Oscars themselves start at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT.
So, what are your thoughts? Do you have any other predictions? List them below in the comments and stay tuned to our site as we’ll be sure to reveal even more details as soon as they’re available.
