Tom Corless’ 8/23-8/29/12 WDW Photo Report

I visited the Walt Disney World Resort last week covering all four of the theme parks and I have plenty of newsworthy pictures to share, so let’s take a look at what’s happening around the Vacation Kingdom:

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The Rainforest Cafe sign inside Animal Kingdom is still missing

Beastly Bazaar is closed to become a character meet and greet experience this Fall

Wreck-It Ralph has taken over the display at the exit of the Magic of Disney Animation show

Vannelope is voiced by Sarah Silverman

That cake looks so real…

The game Fix-It Felix is inspired by games such as Rampage and Donkey Kong

Ralph even started as a monster just like one you would find in Rampage

Niceland is the city in the game

Ralph and Felix

Hero’s Duty might end up being the darkest looking scenes in any Disney animated film ever…

Hero’s Duty is inspired by games such as Gears of War and Halo

Voiced by Jane Lynch

Sugar Rush is inspired by games such as Mario Kart

Looks like a possible villain to me…

They were painting the next Ink and Paint Cell to be released while I was there

A Hatbox Ghost big figure has been released

There’s also a new Stitch figure

For the first time in ages, the decorations in The Studio Store do not represent a single new film!

Nice to see the original intended decorations back for once

Banners for Finding Nemo 3D up

The LEgend of Jack Sparrow building was painted blue

Walls are now up near the front of the building

The menu has been drastically changed at Backlot Express

BUFFALO CHICKEN BREAST NUGGETS! AHHHHHHH!

Next-Gen FASTPASS preparations already made at American Idol

Moving over to Epcot, work continues on the new Disney Vacation Club booth near Canada

A strange wall has popped up in the queue for Journey Into Imagination

Possibly FASTPASS related?

The Kim Possible sign-up areas in Innoventions have been completely removed

While passing by on the monorail we could see that the new parking lot for the Grand Floridian DVC wing is almost complete

Moving on to the Magic Kingdom, the park is ready for Halloween

There is a new banner at the beginning of Celebrate a Dream Come True

I’m not sure when it happened, but Mickey and Minnie are in normal clothing on their float

The Junioe Jungle Boats outside of the Jungle Cruise have reportedly been closed permanently

Next-gen FASTPASS ready to go at the Jungle Cruise

Same at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Meanwhile, some rather drastic queue modifications have been made at Pirates of the Caribbean

There is now a point where the two queues meet

Work continues on the former Fantasyland Skyway site, soon to be home to a new walkway and restrooms

Thought this was an interesting shot as it gives you an idea of where the Mine Train will be as you walk into Fantasyland

Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train construction

The Castle Walls are nearing completion

Some work being done on the roof of Mickey’s Philharmagic

Most of the Snow White facade is now gone in preparation for Princess Fairytale Hall

Grass continues to be installed on the roof of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

The signage has been installed on Big Top Souvenirs in Storybook Circus

I LOVE the popcorn lights…

FOOD!

Some new Space Mountain shirts are available

Moving back to Fantasyland, the lights were on inside the Castle Walls

Lights were on in the Beauty and the Beast area as well

They were testing lighting on the turrets of the Castle Walls as well

The Mickey-O-Lanterns are much brighter and actually flicker this year

Cinnamon Rolls and Apple Freeze Fill-Up Guests at Gaston’s Tavern

If you enjoyed Red’s Apple Freeze from Cars Land at Disney california Adventure, you’ll be happy to know that the signiature beverage of Gaston’s Tavern in New Fantasyland is the same: “a no-sugar added frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow, topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam”. The new drink will be called LeFou’s Brew, named after Gaston’s bumbling sidekick. The drink will also be available in a souvenir stein or goblet as seen above.

If the drink isn’t your thing, Gaston’s will also specialize in fresh cinnamon buns which will be served all day long.

So, are you excited for Gaston’s Tavern?

Fastpass Plus Testing About to Resume at the Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World is once again gearing up for a test of Fastpass Plus service as evidenced by the many kiosks and poles we’ve seen installed at many Magic Kingdom attractions. Disney confirmed the test to travel agents today:

At the Walt Disney World® Resort we’re constantly looking for ways to make the Guest experience even better. As a part of these efforts, over the next several months we’ll be testing enhancements to our very popular Disney FASTPASS® service at the Walt Disney World Resort. The test, called Disney FastPass+, will allow a small number of Guests to make Disney FastPass+ selections for some of their favorite experiences at Magic Kingdom® Park before they even leave home.

During this test period, select Guests who are registered to use Disney’s Magical Express service will be offered the opportunity to go online to pre-select four Disney FastPass+ experiences at Magic Kingdom Park. Guests eligible for this test will be notified via mail, at the mailing address provided during the booking process. It’s important for you to pass along these invitations to your Clients in order for them to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

Information that we collect from your Clients solely through this test will not be used for marketing purposes. As always, we may send marketing communications to these Clients due to separate past or future interactions between us and these Clients.

While this exciting concept is currently only in the test phase, we’ll continue to share information on the wide range of new, innovative experiences we will be testing and implementing over the coming year, which are designed to make a Walt Disney World vacation even more magical! Stay tuned to Disney Travel News for more information.

Rumor is that the test is currently scheduled for the end of September. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Selected Guests Being Emailed Prior to WDW Trip for FastPass Plus Testing

So, here’s what guests picked at random for the FastPass Plus test are getting in their inboxes right now:

So not only are they signing up for the date and attractions they wish to experience ahead of their trip, but they will be mailed the FastPass Plus cards prior to their arrival. This is what the system should be like if ever permanently implemented down the road. It seems that the scheduled test dates are September 18th through the 24th.

Stay tuned to WDWNT as more information becomes available on this breaking story.

New Concept Art Released for “Celebrate the Magic”, 1000 Seats Being Added for Fantasmic!

At a small media event this evening, Disney shared a few new pieces of concept art for the upcoming “Celebrate the Magic” show coming to the Magic Kingdom:

Disney also announced that due to popularity, they are adding 1000 seats to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, home of Fantasmic!. Work has already begun building the seating in what was formerly standing-room-only space for the show.

So, what do you think?

Conner Purzycki’s 12/7/12 Fantasy Faire Photo Report

I stopped in at Disneyland a few days ago for lunch and on my way out I grabbed some pictures of construction progress on Fantasy Faire on Main Street.

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Busy day on Main Street

Fantasy Faire

Modeling on the buildings are fantastic

Castle Wall!!

Thanks for reading

Robert Ashburn’s 4/19/12 Hollywood Studios Photo Report

WDWNT Reporter Robert Ashburn visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios yesterday and has some newsworthy photos to share with us:

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The Sorcerer topiary is still out front

Wait times were fairly average

Temporary lighting structures still up

The temporary stage is gone though, even though it will probably return for Star Wars Weekends in a month…

The studio gate booth is still missing

The DVC logo was updated on this booth

The Hunger Games is being sold at the Writer’s Stop… it’s right above John Carter, just like at the box office…

The logo was updated on this window display as well… the Disneyland attraction posters are a nice touch

Plenty of Phineas and Ferb merchandise in Stage 1

Some fairly new Muppet shirts on sale as well

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Time for something new already…

The sign on the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular was replaced a few weeks ago and it looks great!

Time for an emotional stop

A makeshift memorial to Dick Clark forming

His legacy lives on…

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The Legacy Continues section of One Man’s Dream has some new park wall displays

The last Narnia sign is finally gone! YAY!

An In-Depth Look at the Brand New Vision House at Epcot

This weekend, WDW News Today was invited to take part in a special two day launch event for the VISION House presented by Green Builder Media, a new exhibit inside Innoventions at Epcot. WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth was sent to cover the festivities:

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The exhibit’s facade is far more realistic than its predecessor, featuring the exterior look and feel of a green household.

The attraction’s marquee is prominently featured above the entrance, most directly facing The Sum of all Thrills.

Pella, one of the many sponsors of the new exhibit, provided the windows for the exhibit, all of which feature their automated blinds system.

The first night of the special event featured a formal reception inside of Innoventions…

Sara Gutterman, Co-Founder and CEO of Green Builder Media led the event with thanks to all of the participating sponsors as well as all others in attendance.

Part of the facade is left unfinished to illustrate the unique design of the green building, including insulation within the walls.

The Vision House is officially on the roster of Innoventions East exhibits!

The evening included an unscripted tour of the Vision House to allow those present to see the extra layers of detail and ask as many questions as they wanted.

Outside of the exhibit, several touch screen kiosks will eventually offer guests the ability to connect with addition Vision House characters, all of whom are featured in the online Vision Tales extension of the Vision House/Green Builder Media brand.

It’s time for the tour to begin!

Each of the “zones” within the exhibit feature AMX panels which let the guiding cast member know where the other tour groups are in the Vision House.

The Vision House is designed with a far more realistic tone in mind, contrary to the futuristic push being the House of Innoventions.

The new layout of the exhibit is spacious and almost entirely open to guest exploration. All barricades and blocks within the former exhibit were removed and everything within the attraction is “touch friendly” for the guests.

The Vision House’s kitchen features Armstrong flooring and Bosch kitchen appliances, all of which can be purchased today. The entire exhibit uses the Nexia Home Intelligence System, which can be controlled via portable and wall-mounted touchscreen panels throughout the house.

The AMX controllers allow home owners to control the temperature of their homes, look up recipes, access the internet and much more.

Ron Jones, Founder and President of Green Builder Media took a few moments to give us his thoughts on the Vision House.

This is the first Vision House to be installed in a theme park, but he hopes it will not be the last!

This Bosch oven retains extra heat, requiring less time and energy to properly cook food items.

One of the very few areas within the exhibit that guests are not allowed to enter.

A section of the house’s wall has been cut away to show off a special insulation that helps to retain a house’s internal temperature, thus decreasing the need for temperature changes in the house’s air conditioning.

Believe it or not, this is a remote controlled toilet. The lid opens automatically at the touch of a button.

Bosch also provided the washer and dryer for the Vision House.

The Vision House belongs to the fictional Monteverde family, who are clearly Disney fans.

Moving into the baby’s room…

Notice how many of the decorations are made from recycled items.

Moving into the backyard, we get to see the garage…

As well as the greenhouse

Trane has provided the HVAC system for the Vision House

Lisa Monteverde converted the garage into her personal office according the story of the Vision House.

With so many sponsors involved, you’ve got lots of products to notice…

The exit of the exhibit features handouts for those interested.

Kohler provided the power management system for the Vision House

Is this a hidden detail?

It seems that Lisa Monteverde actually designed her family’s Vision House herself!

Shameless plug!

M for Monteverde!

Truly living with the land

In the interest of full disclosure, we were offered some wonderful treats a the event…

Back inside of the Vision House, we had the chance to walk around at our own pace to see other aspects of the house we may have missed during our first tour

Lots to see!

Here’s the real-life picture of the Monteverde family’s dog, Rounder

One lamp in the children’s room is made of an old laundry detergent bottle

The AMX touch screens feature images of the Monteverde Family during one of their recent visits to Walt Disney World

Hanwha Solar provided the solar panels featured atop the garage at the end of the exhibit

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The Vision House event continued the following morning with the opening of the attraction for all guests

The space in front of the exhibit was used to offer presentations from several of the sponsors who played a part in creating the Vision House

Vision House has several extensions of the concept that take place outside of the physical exhibit. Vision Tales is one of these concepts.

Matt Power of GreenBuilderMag.com created the cast of characters affiliated with the Vision House/Vision House brand. He gave a great preview presentation of the online efforts associated with the Vision House that should continue guests’ interests in sustainability beyond their visit to Epcot.

Matt also showed us an early preview of the mobile app that will be released in the near future to further tie in with the brand.

A Chevy Volt is featured outside of the exit of the Vision House

Siemens is responsible for the charging system in place for the Volt

Special thanks to Green Builder Media for including WDW News Today in this very special event. We had an incredible time and we highly recommend a visit to the awesome Innoventions East exhibit, the Vision House presented by Green Builder Media!

If you want to take a full walkthorugh and hear more from those involved in the project, we have included a video below:

Even More Art of Animation Press Photos

Disney has released even more press photos from inside the Finding Nemo wing of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort:

Nemo and Marlin in their home, an anemone

TThe giant Mr. Ray

Crush and Dory nearby

Squirt in the play area

Another look at Crush and Dory

WDWNT has a room booked to be amongst the first to stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and will be providing live coverage of the grand opening on May 31st, 2012, so stay tuned!