More Details Emerge For DCA Entrance Makeover

WDWNT on December 22, 2010

From the LA Times:

An intense, 16-month construction project designed to transform the Disney California Adventure entryway from a nondescript strip mall into a circa-1920s Los Angeles streetscape will begin in earnest Jan. 4.

As part of an ongoing, $1.1 billion makeover, the sweeping and extensive reimagineering will wall off 4 acres of the main entrance between the C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A letters, Sunshine Plaza, Grizzly Peak and Hollywood Studios Backlot. The remade entryway, dubbed Buena Vista Street, will be designed to evoke the era when a young Walt Disney first arrived in Los Angeles.

After the winter holiday season ends, construction walls will go up around the iconic C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A letters Jan. 4 so that crews can turn the plaza area into Streamline Moderne turnstiles modeled after the former Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Read on over at the LA Times Website…

DisneyQuest Rings in 2011 with a New Hard Ticket Event

WDWNT on December 19, 2010

Disney World has announced a new, hard-ticket New Year’s Event event taking place in addition to the usual festivities at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

New Year’s Eve Special Event

Come to Downtown Disney for a cyber celebration of New Year’s Eve at DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive theme park. Ring in the New Year with favorite games like Virtual Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear’s Astroblasters and CyberSpace Mountain.

The party starts at 8:00 p.m. and goes until 1:00 a.m. Your night includes access to all DisneyQuest attractions and video games, a DJ Dance Party with a New Year’s Eve countdown, party favors and a coupon for a personal pizza and soda at FoodQuest.

Tickets for this family event are available for purchase online or by calling 407-WDISNEY (407-934-7639). Advance purchase tickets are $39 per person (includes tax). Day of the event tickets are $45 (includes tax). Tickets may also be purchased at the DisneyQuest Box Office.

This is an interesting alternative to the larger celebrations at the other parks and actually isn’t a bad value. If you consider that pizza and a soft drink would probably cost somewhere between $8-10, the ticket price for the DisneyQuest attractions is actually between $29-31. For those who have already experienced New Year’s Eve in the parks or are looking to escape the crowds, this may be a good idea.

Imagination Pavilion Lights the Night Sky Again

WDWNT on December 18, 2010

Long time visitors to Epcot may remember that the large glass pyramids of the Imagination Pavilion used to change between a variety of colors. In more recent years when major changes were made to the pavilion, the nighttime lighting was changed to an orange glow. Just this week, the original color changing lights were brought back:

Imagineers stated at the opening of Captain EO in July that it was the start of much bigger things for the Imagination Pavilion. Maybe this is just another step toward something else…

More Art From Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

WDWNT on December 16, 2010

More information on Disney’s Art of Animation Resort released today by the Disney Parks Blog:

If our first peek at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort left you wanting more – take a look at what we’re sharing today. Our newest artist renderings give a better idea of the themes you’ll be able to see when the resort opens in 2012.

Artist Rendering of 'The Lion King' Area at Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Recognize those characters from The Lion King? The three other themed areas at the resort will be Cars, Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid.

Artist Rendering of the 'Cars' Area at Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Artist Rendering of 'The Little Mermaid' Area at Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Artist Rendering of the 'Finding Nemo' Area at Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Expect to see some amazing sights inside the resort as well. It’ll have themed room interiors in the nearly 2,000 new units — 1,120 family suites in The Lion King, Cars and Finding Nemo wings and 864 themed rooms in The Little Mermaid wings. And once open in 2012, the resort will create 750 permanent jobs.

Booking dates haven’t been announced yet but check back here for updates and more images in the future.

DCA Expansion, Phase 2?

WDWNT on December 14, 2010

The LA Times posted an interesting story about a possible second phase to DCA’s major overhaul.

As Disney California Adventure reaches the midway point of a $1.1-billion expansion, I’d like to take a speculative look at what Walt Disney Imagineering might have in mind for Phase 2 of the massive renovation project. DCA’s extreme makeover was necessitated by the on-the-cheap, off-the-shelf nature of the nearly decade-old theme park that even Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger now calls “mediocre.” Phase 1, which began in 2008, fixes about a third of the flawed park. What I’m interested in looking at here are the possibilities for the other two-thirds. What follows is a land-by-land compilation of possible attractions and thematic changes for Phase 2: Most of the proposed plans that have come to light remain firmly in the “what if” stage. In some cases, Disney announced and then postponed attractions. In other instances, the ideas have filtered out into the online community. In all circumstances, Disney remains officially mum, guarding future projects as closely held secrets. Quite naturally, any sequel to the wholesale reimagineering of DCA remains contingent on the success of Phase 1, which wraps up in 2012. So far, the crowds have responded positively to the uptick in quality (Toy Story Midway Mania dark ride), spectacle (“World of Color” water show) and attention to detail (Silly Symphony Swings wave swing). And the best is yet to come. Crews have broken ground on Phase 1 projects that demonstrate Disney’s commitment (the $100-million Voyage of the Little Mermaid dark ride), ambition (the 12-acre Cars Land) and heritage (Buena Vista Street entry plaza). Mouse watchers believe if Phase 1 continues to pay dividends, Iger will pony up more money for Phase 2 starting in 2013. The operative word here is “if.” So far nothing has been announced for Phase 2, but Imagineers have been busy dusting off old plans and dreaming up new ideas for the re-emergent Anaheim theme park. As any Disney fan knows, these “blue sky” proposals can change repeatedly over the course of development – and many never see the light of day.

You can read on over at the LA Times Website.

Disney Confirms Toontown Fair Closing February 11, 2011

WDWNT on December 10, 2010

An important Fantasyland expansion update from the Disney Parks Blog:

As many of you know, we’re in the midst of the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history, which will nearly double the size of Fantasyland. In order to make way for this transformation, it’s important to let you know Mickey’s Toontown Fair will close in early February.

Mickey's Toontown Fair

That doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about some of your favorite characters. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and the Disney princesses will move to Town Square in the location currently known as Town Square Exposition Hall in spring 2011. Until that location is ready, they will continue to greet guests throughout Magic Kingdom. Meanwhile, Tinker Bell will relocate to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and her other fairy friends will appear later in the spring at Epcot. The Walt Disney World Railroad will stay open, but the Toontown station will remain closed during construction.

We hope you will pardon our dust as work progresses and if you’d like to experience Mickey’s Toontown Fair, you’ll have until Feb. 11 to make those plans. Remember, there are still many other entertainment experiences throughout Magic Kingdom to delight everyone in the family.

Fantasyland construction will be completed in phases with most new experiences open by 2013. This expansion is particularly exciting because it will enable us to share treasured stories with you in a whole new way. We’ll share more with you here as our work progresses.

Date Set for CALIFORNIA Letters Removal

WDWNT on December 10, 2010

From the Disney Parks Blog:

As we look forward to 2011, we are excited to share that we are making great progress on the expansion of Disney California Adventure park. The year 2010 has been very exciting. In June, we made a big splash with “World of Color,” the nighttime spectacular that is wowing guests every night. On October 29, we reached an exciting milestone with Cars Land with the topping out of the Cadillac Mountain range – about 125 feet in the air. And, many of you have seen The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Goofy’s Sky School coming to life along the parade route. Both are scheduled to open in 2011 along with new restaurants and shops as we finish the entire Paradise Pier expansion.

Now, as we move toward a new year, expansion continues. In January, our efforts move to the front of the park.

The 'CALIFORNIA' Letters at Disney California Adventure Park

On Jan. 4, we will begin making way for a new entrance modeled after the legendary Pan-Pacific Auditorium. This means, the “CALIFORNIA” letters will be removed, and we plan to save these icons for possible future use. Now’s the time to get your photos!

Artist Rendering of the Disney California Adventure Main Entrance Area

As this work continues, we are making adjustments to the Disney California Adventure Main Entrance area, including relocation of some Guest service areas. We’ll keep you informed about those here on the Disney Parks Blog as soon as we have specific dates and locations.

Rendering of Los Angeles in the 1920s

Also on Jan. 4, we will begin the transformation of the Sunshine Plaza area into Buena Vista Street inside the Main Entrance. When complete, it will represent Hollywood as it was when Walt Disney arrived on the west coast in the 1920s.

Stay tuned to the Disney Parks Blog for more updates as the expansion continues.