The Goat Has Returned!
While we have no pictures yet, we can confirm that the Goat in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has returned to the tracks!
Welcome Back Mr. Goat!
MintCrocodile Videos & Pictures
We’ve got a few interesting videos & pictures from MintCrocodile of MouseInfo. This first video shows testing of the new Mark VII monorails in the esplanade. The second is of the new pyro being used in the finale of Fantasmic. We also have some pictures of an after hours rehearsal for the PIXAR Play Parade. Do note that they put up a lattice wall, so the floats aren’t very clear.
And a Water Park Will Follow You Home
Disney is planning on launching a new mobile phone service that will bring the fun of any of the Walt Disney World water parks to you before, during, and after your trip to either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. Here is the official news from DisneyWorld.com:
Dive Into A Thrilling Splash On…Your Cell Phone? Introducing the awesome new Disney WAP Site
You and your kids can access Disney Water Park fun before, during and after you actually visit them-with one of today’s hottest Disney stars appearing along the way.
“At the heart of the Disney Water Parks mobile program is a website optimized for the mobile phone,” explained Tom Aronson of Disney Parks Global New Media and Technologies. “It’s filled with exclusive wallpapers, insider tips and an interactive personality quiz.”
Get your head in the phone
The feature Tom told us about that will really have your kids squealing with joy is the one that features “High School Musical” and “Jump In” star Corbin Bleu. He had such a blast when he recently visited both Disney Water Parks, he was happy to help us send messages to express this enthusiasm to his legions of fans.
It starts with a special video message from Corbin to Disney Resort hotel Guests on their in-room televisions. “He will ask our Guests to text H2O to 775274, which spells SPLASH,” said Tom. “Within seconds the phone rings with a message from Corbin.”
Features galore at the touch of a few buttons
“We created a number of interactive features Guests can access by texting H2O to 775274 (SPLASH),” said Tom. “One of the features offers lots of great tips about how to ‘surf’ at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and ‘ski’ at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park. It’ll let Guests know the best way to enjoy all the attractions for maximum thrills.
“Another section is all about the dos and don’ts of using ‘Surfology’ and ‘Skiology’ lingo. And we even asked artist Jesse LeDoux to create four exclusive wallpapers that can be easily downloaded onto your phone. We’re planning all kinds of other ideas like these all the time.”
Introducing The Disney Pincast
Following the huge success of the weekly Disney pin trading segments on the WDW News Today podcast, we are proud to welcome the only weekly podcast to ever be dedicated to Disney pins to our News Today family, the Disney Pincast. While the first episode will not be released until March 12th, we invite you to go to the official website for the show at www.wdwnewstoday.com/pincast. While there, you can click the Itunes button in the right column to subscribe to the show on Itunes. While you will be able to also download and listen to shows on the Pincast site, we will also be posting news, show notes, and interesting information throughout the week on that very same page. So whether you are a shark or new to trading, check out The Disney Pincast site and podcast today!!!
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride Refurbishment Pushed Back
The Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride refurbishment in April, that was originally planned to go from April 14th to the 18th, has now been pushed back to April 21st through the 24th.
As always, you can keep up with the latest refurbishments on our Attractions Refurbishments page!
Prince Caspian Pre-Parade to the Parade of Dreams
A common practice at Disneyland is a pre-parade to whatever parade is showing, which right now is of course Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams. Currently an Enchanted pre-parade shows about 10 minutes before the parade. But Enchanted has run it’s course, & it’s time for a new pre-parade. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian pre-parade will start performances at 3:20pm on Friday April 25th, 2008.
Bob Gurr’s Main Street Shop Window
A new window is coming to Main Street! Disney Legend Bob Gurr, who was responsible for such attractions as the PeopleMover & the Monorail, will be getting his own Main Street shop window in a ceremony tomorrow morning at 8am (which is before park opening).
2008 Shareholder Meeting News and Notes
Here are some notable happenings and quotes straight out of the 2008 Annual Meeting of Walt Disney Company Shareholders:
-An exclusive trailer from the upcoming theatrical release from Disney and Pixar, Wall-E, was aired only for those shareholders present for the meeting.
-The Disney company recently purchased rights to a book titled “Peter and the Star Catchers”, a prequel to the story of Peter Pan. When asked if a movie adaptation was in the works, Bob Iger said the company was actively looking into doing so.
-When asked about the possibility of a fourth Pirates film, the company has nothing to say at the moment.
-When questioned as to if the Walt Disney classic animated feature “Song of the South” would ever be released for home entertainment, Iger said there are no plans at the moment to do so.
-A particular shareholder asked if Disney would ever introduce an annual pass that would be valid at all the Disney Parks around the globe, Mr. Iger seemed to be interested in the idea.
-There are currently plans to bring older Disney archived footage (such as the Wonderful World of Color and the Disneyland program) to Disney.com in the near future.
-Disney is actively looking for new locations to place international parks and location based entertainment worldwide, nothing new on this front to report……yet.
-When asked about Disney fan podcasts out there, such as Inside the Magic or WDW News Today *cough*, Bob Iger said he looks to reach out to the Disney fan community as a whole in ways never seen before (WDWCelebrations? *cough, cough*). Bob Iger also went on to say he deeply appreciates all the devoted Disney fans out there. Yay for us!!!
-Bob Iger acknowledged that they are indeed creating a Rapunzel animated feature for a future theatrical release.
Spaceship Earth Re-Dedication Coverage
For those of you who are interested, complete coverage of the March 4 re-dedication of Spaceship Earth presented by Siemens at Epcot is available over WFTV. Their coverage of the event includes a full article and video of the small, unannounced ceremony from Tuesday.
Primeval Whirl Update
Scott Powers | Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
Walt Disney World is tinkering with a roller coaster at Animal Kingdom to improve overall safety after the accidental death of an employee there last fall. Changes are being made in the entry and exit areas of Primeval Whirl — including the installation of sensor mats in a restricted-access area where a Disney worker was reportedly struck by a roller-coaster car Nov. 24. Karen Price, 63, fell and hit her head, and died of her injuries a few days later. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is still investigating the death. The accident, said Disney World spokeswoman Kim Prunty, led the company “to consider additional safety enhancements.” “We are always looking at ways to enhance safety,” she said.
On the off-limits area of the ride platform beyond the passenger loading and unloading zones, Disney is installing sensor mats that will shut down the ride if someone sets foot there, Prunty said. Also, bold striping is being added to delineate the loading and unloading zones. The work, which is being done after hours, should take a few weeks and should not disrupt ride operations, Prunty said.
Primeval Whirl is an old ride design known in the trade as a “wild mouse,” featuring cars that travel independently through a series of close, tight curves. There are dozens of such rides all over the world, some dating back more than 50 years. It is considered a relatively mild roller-coaster design, with a good safety record for riders. Since Primeval Whirl opened in April 2002, there has never been a reported case of a rider hurt seriously enough to require inpatient hospital treatment, though Disney currently faces a lawsuit from a man who alleges he seriously injured his knee while getting off the ride in 2005.
Primeval Whirl, in Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland U.S.A. carnival area, is actually two coasters woven together. According to the independent Web site rollercoasterdatabase.com, each of the two tracks is 1,377 feet long and rises 42 feet in the air, and the cars reach a maximum speed of 29 mph.