Animal Kingdom Anniversary Details

WDWNT on April 9, 2008

Here is a list of the special events that are scheduled for Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s tenth anniversary on April 22, 2008:

-A rededication ceremony for the park will be held in front of the Tree of Life from 8:45-9:00am

-Imagineer Joe Rohde will be giving a talk/question & answer session in the Theater in the Wild starting at 9:45am and lasting for about an hour. This will be very similar to the talk session that Imagineer Marty Sklar gave at Epcot’s 25th Anniversary back in October 2007.

WDW News Today will have full coverage of Animal Kingdom’s 10th anniversary on April 22, as we will be part of WDWCelebrations “A Wild Decade” commemorative event. Stay tuned for coverage in just two weeks!!!

Jingles!

WDWNT on April 9, 2008

From the OC Register:

Thousands of Disneyland park guests gathered around King Arthur’s Carousel on Tuesday morning to watch Disney’s top brass dedicate a special carousel horse to legendary performer Julie Andrews.

The gesture recognizes Andrews’ service as the theme park’s ambassador during its 50th anniversary, as well as her contributions to the company over the past 44 years.

The carousel horse is decorated with emblems and logos that recall some of Andrews’ most well-known roles. Its name is ‘Jingles.’

Andrews achieved icon status after the 1964 debut of Mary Poppins, in which she played the title role. In the movie, she rode cartoon carousel horses and used one to win a horse race.

On Tuesday, Andrews told the gathering of resort officials and theme park employees: “I hope this horse is here for a long time.”

MiceAge DLR Rumor Update

WDWNT on April 9, 2008

The plans for the DCA renovations always keep changing, & the latest changes were reported today in Al Lutz’s latest column on MiceAge. We’ll also take a look at some other new stuff supposedly coming to Disneyland, & the resort as a whole:

  • The Walt Disney Story show that was supposed to of gone into the new Walt Disney Plaza has been dropped from the plans. Team Disney Anaheim’s idea behind this is that DCA already has too many shows, & too little good rides. So the last thing DCA needs is another new show! But the extravagant Carthay Circle Theater will still be built, but will only be a facade.
  • With the Walt Disney Story not happening, this now may have Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln being re-installed into the Opera House on Main Street.
  • When Sunshine Plaza is under refurbishment, the temporary entrance may now be the big gate right by Soarin’ Over California, instead of the Millionaire building. You can see exactly where this is by viewing this picture.
  • A water play area themed to King Triton is now planned to be put right next to the new Little Mermaid attraction.
  • The Ariels Grotto restaurant may be re-themed a general Princess restaurant, Princess Palace. The more modern sections of the current exterior of the restaurant would be made more “Princessy”.
  • Originally, the renovation plans for the Disneyland Hotel was to of had each building extensively refurbished, one at a time. Well now, TDA & WDI are looking to completely rip down the current Disneyland Hotel, & re-build it all from scratch!
  • This summer, a Indiana Jones stunt show should take place in Adventureland. We’re not sure if it will last past the summer though.
  • No new attractions are currently planned for the resort in 2009, except for the new It’s a Small World. So Disneyland Park will have a major entertainment themed ad campaign, which will include the proposed new Wonder day-time parade, a new ending to Remember… Dreams Come True, new effects added to Fantasmic, & get this… the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade!

For complete details on all of the things mentioned above & more, check out this MiceAge article!

“Saw This Comin’!” for The Kingdom

WDWNT on April 8, 2008

In an announcement we have been expecting for a long time, Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom online game is finally shutting down forever next month. As stated on the VMK website, the game was only meant to run throughout the Happiest Celebration on Earth in 2005-06 and has lasted well beyond that. The Virtual Magic Kingdom did make it to the real-life Magic Kingdom during that time, gaining space over in the Main Street Cinema at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom from early 2005 until the Fall of 2007.

The game will open for one final day of operation on May 21, 2008 before becoming the first virtual member of Yesterland.

4/7/08 Jose Eber Update

WDWNT on April 8, 2008

Jose Eber is back with another WDW photo update, this time covering Disney pin trading and the Ghirardelli shop refurbishment at Downtown Disney, one of the Walt Disney World Railroad trains heading in for some maintenance, road work at the car entrance to the Magic Kingdom, and a few added surprises. Enjoy!!!

Pelton Work

WDWNT on April 8, 2008

A construction wall has been put up by the Grizzly River Run lift hill, that is just for work on the Pelton Wheel structure. The attraction is open & operating normally:


Both pictures by David “Darkbeer” Michael

Wheels Cost More

WDWNT on April 7, 2008

According to Mouseplanet.com:

Rental prices for strollers and Electronic Convenience Vehicles (ECVs) jumped yesterday. Single strollers are up 50 percent from $10 per day to $15 per day, while double strollers are up a whopping 72 percent, from $18 to $31. ECVs are up from $35 to $45, though the deposit is up from $5 to $20. “Length-of-stay” stroller rentals are also up similarly, with singles increasing from $8 to $13 per day and doubles up from $16 to $27. These price hikes seem steep (and they are!), but bear in mind that there has been no increase in these fees for three years.

Parade News From Around the World

WDWNT on April 7, 2008

DLRP Today has news on the fate of some of Disney’s parades. While this isn’t entirely Disneyland related news, I still thought I’d mention it.

Disney’s Stars & Motor Cars Parade recently finished performances at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, & has been replaced by DCA’s old parade, Block Party Bash. Disney’s Cinema Parade also finished performances at Walt Disney Studios Paris a couple of weeks ago. It looks like Stars & Motor Cars will replace the Cinema Parade in Paris. And then looking even further into the future, the plan is to have the Pixar Play Parade go to Paris & replace Stars & Motor Cars, instead of it going to Florida to replace Block Party Bash. There’s currently no word on what might happen to Block Party Bash though.

Of course, it is still just a rumor. Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today (and DLRP Today in turn) as more information becomes available!

Innoventions Is No Longer Fantastic

WDWNT on April 7, 2008

The long running Fantastic Plastic Works inside Innoventions at Epcot has closed to make way for a new exhibit. While speculation is that this will be the site for the new weather themed exhibit, it is a rather large space and may come in use for more than one new spectacle. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more becomes available on this story.

The Animation World Talks Back

WDWNT on April 7, 2008

The Animation World talks back on Re-Imagineering about the planned It’s a Small World changes! Here’s one of the 11 comments made:

“Mary Blair is one of the most remarkable artists of our time, and her work on “It’s a Small World” one of her crowning achievements. The attraction is the result of many talented artists working at the peak of their creative powers. Restoration aside, I can’t imagine improving on the original ride.”

Pete Docter
Director / Monsters Inc.