Month: October 2011

With 2012 approaching, Walt Disney World’s plans for the year are becoming more and more clear. Today, the Walt Disney World website listed several new refurbishments which lead us to some interesting conclusions:

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant is listed as closed from January 9th thru February 17th, 2012. During this time, it is expected the older carousel of flying pachyderms will make the move to the Storybook Circus. Disney has already stated that the new carousel will open first, so we can expect that new Dumbo centrifuge will be in operation on February 18th as final modifications are made to the older ride once it is placed next door. That’s right, Dumbo will be the first attraction in New Fantasyland to open next year, probably followed closely by the Storybook Circus Train Station, The Barnstormer starring the Great Goofini, and the Casey Jr. Roundhouse in the same time frame.
• The rumored Big Thunder Mountain refurbishment is no longer a rumor as Disney has it listed to begin on January 9th, 2012. The current end date is set for March 31st, but that is only because the Walt Disney World website calendar doesn’t cross that date as of yet. During this refurbishment, an interactive queue is expected to be added. As well, the missing railroad tracks hiding the steel roller-coaster track will be returned and the falling rock scene will either be fixed or replaced. Other upgrades and changes are rumored but an not be confirmed at this time. Stay tuned as more becomes available on this story.
• Still not listed is the rumored refurbishment of Test Track at Epcot. The reason we have heard for this is that the attraction is not closing in the Spring as rumored, but rather in the Summer after Cars Land at California Adventure opens. The reason for this is that Imagineering wants to see how the upgrades to the technology and the new show scene effects work before moving them over to Florida. Once Test Track does close, it will be closed for several months. Right now, the only rumored changes we are hearing about are new scenes where the tires are changed or the paint scheme of the car is changed, just like in Radiator Springs Racers.

For a comprehensive list of upcoming refurbishments and changes (including a changed return date for the Swiss Family Treehouse), be sure to check out our attraction updates page!