New “Next-Gen” Finale Scene Debuts at “it’s a small world”

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

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Just last week, we showed you that Imagineers were working on a new finale scene inside “it’s a small world” at the Magic Kingdom. Well, for the most part, their work is done:

As you can see, the scene has been freshened up a bit. All 22 goodbye phrases are still there, but new accents and a few large postcard shaped signs have been added. However, just because the scene is now visible, does not mean that they are done working on it. The eventual plan is to have the large postcards replaced with screens that will say goodbye to guests personally after gathering their names off of their MagicBands. It is even possible that the long-rumored “create-your-own-doll” feature will be integrated to this scene whenever that may eventually come to fruition with the roll-out of MyMagic+.

Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more becomes available on this story.

Details Announced for Limited Time Magic’s True Love Week at Walt Disney World, 2/11-2/17

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

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Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Love is in the air at Walt Disney World Resort as fairytale princesses find true love with their princes, and “happily ever after” becomes reality. It all happens during True Love Week February 11-17, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort.

The weeklong love fest is all part of Limited Time Magic at Disney Parks, where each week in 2013 guests will be treated to a sprinkling of Disney magic where unexpected surprises and delights enhance vacation memories.

During True Love Week, a tapestry of romance is woven throughout the resort — from limited- time Valentine’s merchandise and special entertainment, to romantic dinners for two and new themed photo locations offering greetings with beloved Disney sweethearts – all for a limited-time only.

The weeklong event celebrates the love of friends and family, and invites couples to rekindle the flame. Here is the lineup:

  • Romantic Setting: Guests will feel the romance at every turn, as banners proclaiming True Love, heart-shaped signage and sweetheart-themed décor adorn the Magic Kingdom.
  • Blushing Castle: At dusk, hues of pink, red, lavender and blue bathe Cinderella Castle with themed lighting synced to a musical melodies adding to the ambiance.
  • Dinners for Two: Candlelit dinners for two with prix fixe menus at select restaurants  during the most romantic week of the year.  Specially-created menus at Artist Point (Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort);  The Wave…of American Flavors (Disney’s Contemporary Resort); Hollywood Brown Derby (Disney’s Hollywood Studios); Yachtsman Steakhouse (Disney’s Yacht Club Resort) make an ideal setting for a romantic evening. To book visit Disneyworld.com or call 407/WDW-DINE.
  • Valentine’s-themed Takeaways: Limited-edition pins, plushes, newly-designed apparel and Vinylmations available at select merchandise locations.
  • Royal Gathering:  The rare opportunity to get a photo with Disney Princes as they escort their Princesses to enchanting character greeting locations.

In Town Square Theater you may find Mickey and Minnie, Aurora with Phillip or Rapunzel and Flynn. Mary Poppins joins Bert in Fantasyland, while Prince Naveen and Princess Tiana meet guests in the Enchanted Glade in Liberty Square.

Romantic Photo Locations in Magic Kingdom with your Sweetie:

  • Carriage Awaits: New Fantasyland invites lovers to create memories alongside Cinderella’s Glass Coach situated by the new Castle wall for True Love Week.
  • Wishes Come True: Hearts and flowers enhance Cinderella’s Wishing Well creating the perfect backdrop for a cherished moment.
  • Rose Walk:  The Rose Garden in Central Plaza is all decked out with enchanting decor.

Dirk Wallen’s 1/23/13 Magic Kingdom Photo Report

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and has some newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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Long Lost Friends Week was the first big hit from Limited Time Magic in Florida

Scrooge McDuck and Ludwig Von Drake

The Pinocchio gang

Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Prince John, and the Sheriff of Nottingham

Clarabelle & Horace

BIG BAD WOLF!

Instead of sining autographs, guests were given autograph cards

The Cinderella Castle Dreamlights are coming down

Crane up behind the castle

Another crane up and working on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

The queue was fixed up while the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was closed last week

Marie was out in Storybook Circus… this is not a normal occurrence

Sleepy Hollow Refreshments is open while the exterior is being refurbished

Columbia Harbor House is still behind tarps as well

Some strange work going on at the Tomorrowland Speedway

Work continues on The Villas at the Grand Floridian

Looking good!

“A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas” Attraction Announced

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

From the Disney Parks Blog:

We’re happy to share here on the Disney Parks Blog today that a new interactive quest called A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas will debut in Adventureland at Magic Kingdom Park this spring. (And check out this great artist rendering that our friends at Walt Disney Imagineering just shared with us!)

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In A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas, guests will use a pirate map and magic talisman to help them complete five different pirate raids throughout Adventureland. The goal is to help locate different Treasures of the Seven Seas and fight off pirate enemies like the Royal Navy and Captain Barbossa, among others. If guests help Captain Jack succeed in all the missions, they’ll be welcomed as part of his new crew. If not, they’ll face the wrath of the cruel sea – alone.

Next-Gen Finale Scene Being Installed at “it’s a small world”

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

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For over 41 years, 22 different goodbyes in different languages were the last thing guests would see on “it’s a small world” at the Magic Kingdom. That scene was quietly removed a few days ago and black tarps were hung to cover work Imagineers are currently doing to the attraction. Rumor has it that when completed, the new scene will read guest’s MagicBands and RFID-enabled tickets to give them a personalized goodbye with their name in it. Here’s what the scene looks like now:

Stay tuned to WDW News Today as work progresses on this new scene for “it’s a small world”.

Tom Corless’ 1/14-1/17/13 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

I know it is a few days late, but I decided that I should share some newsworthy photos from my last trip to Walt Disney World with you, so let’s take a look at a couple of interesting things happening around the resort:

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The Epcot Center charm bracelet is now available

The “Oz The Great and Powerful” playground fro the Flower and Garden Festival is being constructed near Imagination!

The FastPass+ queue seems to be finished at the Seas with Nemo and Friends

Yes, the cut a hole in the mural…

The Main Street Bakery is closed until May to convert to Starbucks service

Tomorrowland Terrace has breakfast for now

FastPass+ scanners uncovered at Tomorrowland Speedway

Also uncovered at the Barnstormer

The umbrellas have finally arrived for the tables in Storybook Circus

The construction walls at the Grand Floridian now sport concept art for the Villas at the Grand Floridian

The FastPass+ scanners at Toy Story Midway Mania are tinker-toys!

The exhibit area at the Magic of Disney Animation now has a poster up for Frozen

There is also a poster for Planes

A Walt Disney World charm bracelet has also been released

There’s a ticket from 1981 on it

They also sell a large charm with this artwork

There is a Dumbo New Fantasyland board game out now

New magnet clips, including the Orange Bird

The kids cups at restaurants now match the light-up character they come with

A temporary banner has gone up at the Animal Kingdom turnstiles to let resort guests know they can enter here with their RFID tickets

Fab 5 figurines have been released, they are only $12.95 each

A new surprise release pin set has been started celebrating extinct attractions. The first pin is the Mickey Mouse Revue!

WDWNT: The Magazine – To Our Readers

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

When issue 19 of the magazine was released, the Letter from the Editor included a note that the magazine staff was taking a short break, and would use the downtime to consider improvements to the magazine. During that time, the magazine team considered many different options.

Now the break is over, and I’m thrilled to announce that we are significantly changing the way we publish our content. Instead of releasing a monthly PDF version of the magazine, we are going to fully integrate our content into the main wdwnewstoday.com website. Our magazine articles will be published as featured content of the site. The plan is to publish a couple of articles each weekend. The articles will be highlighted as magazine articles to stand apart from the regular news posts on the site. I’ll try to answer some questions that may come up, but please let us know if you have any other questions.

Why are we making this change?

There are a couple of reasons, most notably:

  • This will allow us to significantly reduce the publication time of articles, getting them to our readers much quicker, thus allowing for more timely and relevant articles.
  • This allows better searching of the magazine content for our readers.
  • Easier for our readers to access the magazine content. This will allow readers to go to a single site for Disney news and analysis, rather than going to multiple sites.

When does this start?

Right now! With the publication of this post, we will begin regular posting of magazine articles to the wdwnewstoday.com website. As noted above, we will be publishing new content on a weekly basis. So check back often.

So is this the end of the print version of WDWNT: The Magazine?

As a monthly print magazine, yes. However, we are working on some ideas that will allow us to publish a quarterly or semi-annual print version that contains a review of articles published during the previous period. In addition, the first 19 issues will continue to be available.

Isn’t this basically just turning the magazine into a blog?

While we are using blog technology, we strongly believe that what differentiates us from a traditional blog is going to be our content. Our publishing model might be changing, but our content and our editorial voice is not going to be changing. We are going to continue to focus on longer articles with creative topics that will appeal to Disney fans. I am extremely proud of the fantastic content that the magazine team has produced over 19 issues, and I am confident that we will continue that going forward.

I hope that this post provides an overview of the new direction for WDWNT: The Magazine. I am very excited about where we are going, and I am certain that we will continue to bring you the most educational and most entertaining content available to Disney fans anywhere.

As always, we want to hear from you. Please email us any questions or suggestions you may have to wdwntthemagazine@wdwnt.com.

WDWNT: The Magazine – Life Outside of the College Program

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

Life Outside of the College Program

By Bret Shroats

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[one_half]If you are interested in participating in the Disney College Program, you may have several questions about the program. One of the questions you should have is, “Will I have a life outside of the role Disney casts me for?”As a Disney College Program alumnus, I am pleased to report that the answer is completely up to you.

The Disney College Program offers a diverse amount of options for a cast member’s schedule; you may take as much or as little overtime at your work location as you want. Now, you have no control what you get scheduled, but you control the amount of overtime and what you do with your free time. I know participants who went to Walt Disney World to work, and that was all they wanted to do, and they were happy. They were living their dream, and they knew they would continue to live the dream as long as they wanted to. These people Walt Disney’s words, “You reach a point where you don’t work for money,” quite literally.

There are also people who apply and accept their offer to the Disney College Program so they can move to Orlando, Florida and party while they are there. They request as few hours as possible and try and give away hours whenever they can. They are also happy.

I, and many others like me, go down for the full experience of the Disney College Program and Orlando, Florida. I was completely content with the hours I was given, and I still made time to do almost everything Orlando and Tampa, Florida had to offer. Sometimes I even requested more hours. One week I worked almost 80 hours, and I had no complaints. During a separate week I had a 14 hour shift. Cast Members at the Magic Kingdom kept me busy; they knew if I was there the job would be done.

I was not a slave to Disney though; I did everything I could around the central Florida area that I wanted. I went to competition theme parks, and I went everywhere from Cocoa Beach to Clearwater Beach. I took the stroll down I-Drive, I shopped at the Florida Mall, and I did some of the activities that Disney offers to College Program participants.

Now, having a life doesn’t just happen when you have free time outside of work. Obviously, as you work in the role that Disney has casted you for, you will make friends with co-workers even if you do not work with them every day. You may have a social life at work and outside of work. I made some of my greatest memories hanging out with friends while working at Magic Kingdom such as the rare times when the park was slow or stopping work July 3rd and 4th to watch the Magic Kingdom’s July 4th fireworks show. Watching the same show as the rest of the near 100,000 crowd was a truly magical experience.[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Outside of work, there are many places Disney College Program participants enjoy. A couple of popular hangouts, for when we would get off after hours, were Steak and Shake and I-Hop. I can recount a myriad of times of getting off at 1 or 2 A.M. and going to one of those places with friends from Magic Kingdom or Downtown Disney. Another popular hangout spot is the Disney College Program’s apartment complexes. Each complex has plenty to do within in it, including: exercising, swimming, or playing a sport. Also, if you live in Chatham Square or Patterson Court, you live next to Mickey’s Retreat— a recreational area just for Disney cast members.

There is so much to do outside of working for Disney as a Disney College Program participant. Orlando is a fantastic place to live, work, and play. It has seven world class theme parks, and you can get into four of them for free anytime you want. There are four amazing water parks, and you can get into two of them for free at most times. There is great food, places to shop, and entertainment for everyone. It’s hard to not find something to enjoy. Because of this, Orlando, Florida was voted the #10 Best Vacation Spot in the United States by TripAdvisor in 2012. You do not get that ranking without some great things to do around the area. Additionally, the Tampa, Florida theme park and the beautiful beaches, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, are within reasonable driving distance.

One day, to remind myself from home, I created an exciting, memorable outing. I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and I had a Cincinnati day in Tampa, Florida. I went to Clearwater, Florida for the beach and a Cincinnati restaurant—Skyline Chili. In that restaurant, they had a pennant from my high school. Later that night, the Cincinnati Reds were in town to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Reds won the game by a score of 5-0. It was a great reminder of home that I had time to create while attending the Disney College Program.

If you want a social life while working at Disney, you can have one. If you do not want a social life while working at Disney, you don’t have to have one. I recommend having the best of both worlds; if you don’t, the magic will wear off one day. It may not happen immediately, but it will eventually happen. When the magic does wear off, you will want friends to share your magical memories with. The magic will return with time away from Disney. Sometimes people overdose on magic; that’s when you need to step away and breathe in the breath of the sea or experience the frenzy of another local attraction. Once you do that, the magic will return to you, and you will continue to be successful and happy at “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

Have a magical day.[/one_half_last]

WDWNT: The Magazine – Test Track: First Impressions

WDWNT on March 3, 2013

Test Track: First Impressions

by Ron D’Anna

December 11, 1998 was a landmark day at Epcot. While not officially open, it was the first day Test Track saw riders. After over two years of waiting and delays, Epcot received its first thrill ride. While official Cast Member previews would begin the next day, Epcot cast members and their guests got to experience the attraction before anyone else. However, though I wasn’t working at Epcot, I managed to get in with a group of friends that night as well. After years of waiting for the ride to open, I was there for its first night, and what appeared to be its first breakdown. Just as I pulled into the unload area, the ride suddenly stopped and the Imagineers who had been lining the platforms scattered. It was a truly memorable first ride.

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Just a shade over 14 years later, I approach Test Track for the first time again, just after park opening on a Saturday morning. The line is already sticking out past the shade-providing canopy. The ride is down. “At least some things haven’t changed,” I think to myself. I’d seen plenty of reviews and videos of the so-called Tron Track and I hadn’t decided what to think about it. Rationally, I’d decided to wait to experience the ride before condemning it. I decided to get my Fastpass and come back later.

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Finally, I came back in the afternoon to ride via Fastpass. Immediately, I saw we were segregated from the main queue, though the few exhibits Fastpass and Single Riders see are interesting enough for the short wait. Finally we come to the design stations. We quickly select our predesigned vehicle, and within a couple of minutes we’re loading on to our Sim-Car and we’re off. Little did I know I had bypassed the most compelling component of the new experience.

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What first hit me was how beautiful the environment of the ride track is. The graphics are incredible, and definitely convey the feeling of being in the computerized environment. However, I immediately began to feel at a loss of where I am and what I’m doing in the vehicle testing storyline. The ride track may be exactly the same, but the change in narration and décor of the building don’t quite impress on the riders what exactly they are testing. When the ride switches to the cornering and high-speed sections this lack of direction is essentially minimized as the ride’s focus switches to the sensations rather than the environment. Along the way the design ranking screens have been displaying how our cars have been doing, but having chosen a pre-made design I felt no real connection to my design.

Any emotional connection to the ride is lost by taking the Fastpass or Single Rider options. The heart and soul of the attraction lie in the design features, and after going back and playing with that, my entire outlook on the ride instantly changed. Exiting into the post show, I still felt somewhat cheated. All the elements of the post show revolve around your design. From the simple performance readouts to the interactive “create your own” commercial and the drive tables, I still had fun but it felt cold and sterile. Something was missing to make the new Test Track the E-Ticket anchor Epcot deserved.

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Everything changed again the second I found the design stations in the post-show area. After waiting for the station the person ahead of me had been using to time out (these desperately need a functional “I’m Done” button), I thoroughly enjoyed the design process, playing with option upon option for the full amount of time each section allowed. Everything I had just experienced hit me in a different light. I know the physical experience wouldn’t have changed, and it really hadn’t from the original ride, but I could see the emotional attachment to the car rankings and post show elements.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take my new design back through again because of timing on a busy holiday weekend, the posted wait time was well over two hours. I really wanted to see how it felt with my own car. I found it hard to believe that something so intangible made all the difference in what is billed as a thrill ride. And even more surprising, Disney has finally come up with a compelling reason to skip Fastpass. Hopefully, the advent of MyMagic+ will allow guests to predesign their vehicles and allow those who use the Fastpass option the same experience as those in the standby queue with out the hour plus waits.

In all, the new Test Track is a worthy successor to the original, but the heart of the attraction isn’t the thrill factor, it’s the tie in you get from preshow to post show with the vehicle you create. Unless the option to design your car ahead of time is introduced, I will highly recommend making Test Track your first attraction in the morning, rather than relying on Fastpass to experience the full version.

Ron has been going to WDW longer than he can remember. As a former Cast Member, he has always tried to share his love of Walt Disney World. Ron can be reached at graceysbutler@gmail.com.