The American Adventure lounge in World Showcase now has its main entrance walled-off. This does not happen routinely, even before the space is used prior to the park festivals.
This space has been used as the Chase Lounge at past Food and Wine Festival events, but may now be getting a conversion into Epcot’s Club 33. The spot would make sense as it offers great views and is connected via elevator to a kitchen downstairs.
While this is not confirmed and we are purely speculating, it does seem likely. However, the park does offer several other possibilities if this is not it.
Walt Disney World will likely not be reopening the Hall of Presidents at the Magic Kingdom in time for the 4th of July holiday as originally planned.
Despite zero announcements since the attraction closed in January, Disney closed the Hall of Presidents attraction to add new president Donald Trump to the show. Internal documents stated that the show would re-open in late June 2017, but are now simply stating “Summer 2017”. Cast members standing outside of the closed attraction are also telling guests that it will not reopen prior to July 4th.
Disney has still made no public statement on when it will reopen and what role Donald Trump will have in the attraction. It is unknown if the delays are related to remaining work to be done or for political reasons and public appearance.
You can see from the aerial image that the area encompassed by the permit entails all of the empty expansion pad between France and Morocco (expansion pads were originally designated for the addition of countries to World Showcase), as well as some additional space directly behind the France pavilion. The show building will be built on the expansion pad, and the queue area will travel behind the existing France pavilion and connect to the existing guest area in front of the pavilion.
According to the permit (which can be downloaded in full here), the area inside the red outline totals 5.70 acres. Currently, 1.10 acres are paved, 0.31 acres are occupied by buildings (mostly trailers), and 4.29 acres are “pervious” aream which is either dirt or landscaping.
The plans are to pave an additional 2.94 acres of the current “pervious” area and build retention ponds on the other side of Avenue of the Stars (the service road that circles World Showcase) to hold the additional runoff from the added impervious area. Several buildings will also be removed, but some additional buildings will be built to replace them.
As you can see from the imagery, some of the expansion pad is used for storage of food kiosks from the Epcot festivals, which will easily be relocated.
I’ve analyzed the multiple drawings in the permit and additional documents filed and have drawn up the rough plan below which shows the extent of the work, where existing structures are located, and where many of them will be relocated. In addition the dark shaded area shows a new access road to be built to serve the back of the restaurants in the France pavilion, since the current access road will be blocked by either the show building or the queue area. (Note: If I’ve mislabeled any of the backstage buildings, please let me know so I can correct it. I’m only going by what I can see on the permits and don’t have firsthand knowledge! Email me directly at jason@wdwnt.com in case I don’t see it in the comments.)
Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on this new construction. Once things get underway, we hope to have construction photos for you on a regular basis, as you’ve come to expect from WDWNT!
While rumors have been circling that Marriott would be looking to grow their presence at Walt Disney World by leveling the site of the Swan and Dolphin Hotel tennis courts, we now have some idea of their plans for the space.
Rumored plans for The Kessler Collection resort (possibly another Grand Bohemian Hotel for Orlando) operated by Marriott at Walt Disney World
A source inside of the Marriott organization has informed us that the Kessler Collection will likely be constructing a hotel on the former tennis court site. The Kessler Collection hotels are part of Mariott’s Autograph Collection Hotels, owned by Kessler and operated by Marriott. Kessler already has a strong presence in Central Florida with their Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando, Bohemian Hotel Celebration, and the Castle Hotel Orlando, so it would not be strange for them to have yet another location in town. The Kessler hotels are typically smaller, luxury lifestyle hotels, which would be about right for a plot of this size. The hotels are typically themed to their location and this plot would be just across the street from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Below are examples from two of their other locations.
The outdoor covered space near Fantasia Gardens would also be leveled for additional parking, but the adjacent Fantasia Gardens mini-golf should remain in operation despite the proximity to the hotel. The hotel’s prescense would likely also help business at the adjacent courses, a plus for Disney.
Of course, none of this has been confirmed as of yet, but it seems highly likely at this time. It is unknown when such a project might commence, but likely it would be very soon to coincide with the needed demands of the opening of Star Wars Land.
Our latest photo report takes us to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, to see what is new and exciting for this park in transition…
The Hollywood That Was
Heavy demolition continues in the Hollywood Studios parking lot as they prepare to expand and reconfigure it ahead of Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land opening.
The stage in front of the Chinese Theater was gone for a few days, but sadly they could not figure out a roll-away stage to replace it, so the old one is already back up.
New trees were planted on Hollywood Boulevard for some reason. They are much smaller than those they replaced.
The packaging for the various Chip and Dale Snack Co. products was changed, and it is pretty much the cutest thing ever.
New versus old in a side by side comparison.
The vegetable chip packaging was also updated.
Get Your Licks on Route 66
A Cars 3 cupcake is now available at most counter service locations at Hollywood Studios.
We got it and decided we needed to take this cupcake out for a photo shoot. My life now consists of cupcake photo shoots and pretzel packages.
It wasn’t the worst cupcake I have ever had, but I prefer chocolate in my desserts. That being said, it pretty much tasted like strawberry Nesquik that was turned into a cake, which isn’t a bad thing.
WARNING: The white chocolate Lighting McQueen may be hard to break…
Cruzin’ into PIXAR Place
Cruz Ramirez from Cars 3 is now meeting guests towards the end of PIXAR Place.
The awning isn’t very conducive to early morning photos…
Cruz looks pretty cool up close with the metallic paint job.
This and That
The Express Transportation stops all have the bus times posted now, a nice offering.
Disney World is somehow able to sell this Thor mug in the parks, I’m not sure how as items like this weren’t allowed before. Disney Springs and the resorts are typically where you would have to go for stuff like this.
Some new items for pets now available in the Disney Tails line.
Limited edition Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars 3 MagicBands for sale.
A new Lion King MagicBand 2 for sale.
There is now a hard plastic version of the Haunted Mansion wallpaper phone case available.
A growing trend is Disney moving away from the “Disney Parks” branding on items. This will make it hard to tell what is park exclusive and what may also be at your local Disney Store. This is a real shame for guests who want to bring something unique home. Hopefully this doesn’t mean we will see less park exclusive items as well.
There are ads for PizzeRizzo plastered all over the Muppets Courtyard area now.
Seems odd to heavily advertise a restaurant that’s only open for lunch…
More Cars 3 Stuff
One Man’s Dream is currently home to the Cars 3 preview.
There are Cars 3 advertisements everywhere outside of the exhibit…
Inside, guests see a small exhibit very similar to what used to be displayed for new films over at the Magic of Disney Animation.
There was a curtain up when we visited. This has since become a merchandise stand…
Some of the art and displays around the final rooms were changed as well.
Star Wars props were replaced with Dr. Strange.
The Music of PIXAR Live! – A Symphony of Characters
We did the dining package for The Music of PIXAR Live! – A Symphony of Characters, which is running 3 shows a night through the summer. The dining package was a great deal for the food alone, never mind our seating which was dead center. That being said, if you don’t wish to buy one, a FastPass can yield you a very similar seat.
A nearby merchandise cart.
PIXAR Live takes over the Theater of the stars in the evenings.
This is also now the FastPass entrance, but it was just dining package earlier in the run.
Hosted by radio veterans and life-long Disney fans Tom Corless and Nick LoCicero, WDW News Tonight is a live, weekly, audio and video program presented on 105.5 FM, 660 AM, and AM 1520 WBZW in Orlando, Florida, as well as online at WDWNewsTonight.com every Wednesday from 9-11pm EST. The show covers the Walt Disney World Resort and other Disney news. The show combines the latest headlines, comedy, trending vacation topics, call in games, and in-depth discussions to bring Disney fans a one-of-a-kind 2-hour program covering the Disney Parks. While the show is being live-streamed in both audio and video, listeners and viewers also interact via a live chat online. The show is also available on demand as an audio download, online audio stream and can be watched live or recorded on YouTube.
THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK SPOTLIGHTS THE CREATIVE FORCES AND STARS FROM SOME OF ITS MOST EXCITING SHOWS AT D23 EXPO 2017, WITH EXCLUSIVE Q&As AND MEET & GREETS/PHOTO OPS
Once Upon a Time Panel Features Series Creators/Executive Producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and star Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook)
Celebrate ABC’s Summer Fun & Games as Modern Family’s Nolan Gould Hosts a Live Game of Celebrity Family Feud Featuring Some of Your Favorite ABC Comedy Kids from American Housewife, black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, Modern Family, and Speechless
Meet and Take Selfies with Cast Members of American Housewife, black-ish,
Fresh Off the Boat, General Hospital, and Once Upon a Time
Be among the first to learn the secrets of what’s ahead on ABC’s hit series Once Upon a Time; join Modern Family’s Nolan Gould as he hosts an ABC Summer Fun & Games panel featuring some of your favorite ABC Comedy kids playing a live, real-time game of Celebrity Family Feud; and meet some of your favorite ABC stars in-person during special meet & greet/photo op sessions at D23 Expo: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, July 14–16 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Panels and Presentations:
ABC Summer Fun & Games
Saturday, July 15, 10 a.m., D23 Expo Arena
Join us as ABC Summer Fun & Games comes to D23 Expo. Modern Family’s Nolan Gould hosts a game of Celebrity Family Feud with some of your favorite ABC Comedy kids, including Daniel DiMaggio & Logan Pepper from American Housewife; Miles Brown and Marsai Martin from black-ish; Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler and Ian Chen from Fresh Off the Boat; Aubrey Anderson-Emmons from Modern Family; and Kyla Kenedy and Mason Cook from Speechless. Immediately following the game, the stars will take questions from the audience.
Once Upon a Time
Saturday, July 15, 3:15 p.m., D23 Expo Arena
After six seasons, the residents of the Enchanted Forest enter season seven facing their greatest challenge yet as the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, and Rumplestiltskin join forces with a grown-up Henry Mills and his daughter Lucy on an epic quest to bring hope to their world and ours. Along the way, fairy-tale characters—both new and old—search for true love, find adventure, and take sides in the ongoing struggle of good against evil as classic tales are once again twisted and reimagined. Join co-creators and executive producers Edward Kitsis (Lost) and Adam Horowitz (Lost), along with series star Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook), as they discuss what’s in store for our returning favorites, as well as the new additions to the Once Upon a Time universe. The panel will be moderated by D23’s Jeffrey Epstein.
On the Show Floor at TALENT CENTRAL
Meet & Greets/Photo Ops
Meet and have your picture taken with some of your favorite ABC stars at Talent Central, located on the show floor. Following is the appearance schedule (subject to change):
Friday, July 14
4–5 p.m.
General Hospital stars Michelle Stafford and Chloe Lanier
Saturday, July 15
1–2 p.m.
black-ish stars Miles Brown and Marsai Martin
1:30–2:30 p.m.
Fresh Off the Boat stars Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, and Ian Chen
2:30–3:30 p.m.
American Housewife stars Daniel DiMaggio and Logan Pepper
5:15–6:15 p.m.
Once Upon a Time star Colin O’Donoghue and co-creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Tickets for D23 Expo 2017 are available for $81 for one-day adult admission and $59 for children 3–9. Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club can purchase tickets for $72 for a one-day adult admission and $53 for children 3–9. Multi-day tickets are also available. For more information on tickets and D23 Expo 2017, visit D23Expo.com.
The WDWNT Store at TeePublic is having a huge sale right now, with all standard t-shirts priced at only $14.00, but only through Friday night!
All of our newest designs, such as Indigenous Pandora Ale, Save Figment, Captain EO Crunch, and ‘Punzel’s Poopers, plus all your classic favorites, including Seven, Tom Corless’ Mean Tweets, and Make the Movie Ride Great Again, are all on sale!
Everything else in our TeePublic Store, including stickers, wall art, kids apparel, and hoodies are also on sale. But remember, this sale ends Friday night at midnight EDT, so don’t delay!
DisneyStore.com has released this month’s shirts in the YesterEars collection, which will be available until June 29th.
The Sci-Fi Dine-In shirt has a 3/4-length raglan sleeve, which are yellow to match the vintage logo. Disney’s Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant first opened April 20, 1991 at Disney-MGM Studios.
The Typhoon Lagoon offering is the traditional short-sleeve tee, in the same peach color and sporting the original Typhoon Lagoon logo just like the shirts that were available when the park opened on June 1, 1989.
Both shirts have the Mickey Mouse YesterEars logo on the back, and are priced at $27.99, with the Buy One, Get One 40% Off deal still applicable.
Can Ron Howard save the “Han Solo” movie? It seems that Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm seem to thinks so as he has been chosen to take over the helm of the “Han Solo” movie. This week in a shocking announcement by Kathleen Kennedy, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were let go over creative differences. Who knows what happened behind the scenes, but things must have been bad if they were let go after principal photography for the film was almost fully completed. Ron Howard is set to meet with the cast and crew of the film and then pour over all of the footage to see what can be salvaged. This story is far from over, and although it may take a long time, I’m sure we will find out what was Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s version of the movie and how it differed from Ron Howard’s eventual version.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Ron Howard has been named as the new director of Lucasfilm and Disney’s untitled Han Solo movie, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter exclusively. The official announcement is expected Thursday morning.
The move comes two days after directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were let go from the movie they had spent over four-and-a-half months directing. Creative differences over style and tone came to a head between the duo and Lawrence Kasdan, with the studio backing the veteran screenwriter.
The firing sent shockwaves around Hollywood and beyond as the movie was about three-quarters through principal photography and the replacement of a director at that stage is near-unprecedented.
Howard, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter, will meet with the actors — Alden Ehrenreich is playing the iconic smuggler, Donald Glover is playing Lando Calrissian, with Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton also on the roll call — to soothe a rattled set and will pore over a rough edit to see what the project has and still needs.
The movie was scheduled to shoot for three-and-a-half more weeks, with five weeks of reshoots built into the schedule — the latter a standard procedure on large franchise productions.
Howard, who won an Oscar for directing 2002’s A Beautiful Mind, comes to the Han Solo film with several connections to George Lucas and the worlds of Lucasfilm. He appeared in Lucas’ 1973 breakout film American Graffiti, and implemented Lucas’ 1988 pet fantasy project Willow as helmer. Howard also revealed on a podcast in 2015 that Lucas had approached him to direct 1999’s Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace.
Howard is considered to be a safe choice to complete the task, someone who will more than ably finish the movie while being a calming presence on set.
Howard’s recent movies include Inferno and In the Heart of the Sea, costly ventures that have underperformed at the box office.
