Fun Wheel, Silly Swings, & Pixie Hollow All Official!

WDWNT on August 9, 2008

Disney officials have confirmed 3 new “attractions” for the Disneyland Resort, according to the OC Register. Mickey’s Fun Wheel (the re-theme of the Sun Wheel), Silly Symphony Swings (the re-theme of the Orange Stinger), & Pixie Hollow (replacing the Ariel’s Grotto meet ‘n greet) are all now officially coming to the Resort!

MICKEY’S FUN WHEEL: A Disney Imagineering official confirmed tonight that the Sun Wheel will join the attractions being changed in the Paradise Pier area of Disney’s California Adventure. The main change expected will be removing the current sun face in the middle of the wheel and replacing it with a Mickey Mouse face. The Mickey Mouse face is planned to be a classic wide-eyed Mickey Mouse.

SILLY SYMPHONIES: The Orange Stinger will join in planned changes for the pier-area — expected to change from the current Orange Stinger theme to a Silly Symphonies theme. Currently, the attraction is a swing ride inside a giant orange sitting lakeside and plans show that the building’s foundation will remain the same, while the orange and even round building are planned to change. The attraction will be based on the classic “Silly Symphonies” animations done by Walt Disney’s animation studio in the 1930s. The band leader, Mickey Mouse, is expected to be part of the ride.

TINKERBELL: A change is also planned for Disneyland, the Imagineering official said tonight. The current Little Mermaid meet and greet next to the Tomorrowland entrance is planned to be replaced by a fairy and Tinkerbell meet and greet. The area, as currently planned, will make guests feel like they’ve shrunk down to fairy-size and the path will be filled with pixie dust.

Disney did not give any official dates on when these refurbishments/additions are planned to take place. However rumors going around show that the Sun Wheel will close on September 11th, to be re-opened by the end of the year as Mickey’s Fun Wheel. Ariel’s Grotto should also close in September, & be re-opened as Pixie Hollow by mid-October, in time for the Tinker Bell DVD release. No strong rumors have surfaced yet on when the Orange Stinger re-theme will take place, but it should be sometime next year.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for the latest up-to-the-minute information on these & all new refurbishments & attractions!

MiceAge Disneyland News & Rumor Update

WDWNT on August 7, 2008

Mr. Al Lutz of MiceAge.com has put up another of his fabulous Disneyland Updates. Here’s a run-down of the juiciest things he talked about:

  • As previously reported here on DLNT, McDonalds will be leaving the Disneyland Resort on September 2nd. The refurbishments of Harbor Galley & the Conostoga Wagon will entail the entire replacing of the kitchens inside the mini-restaurants, as the current ones in there are owned by McDonalds, & leased to Disney. The same will happen with Burger Invasion, & once it re-opens, it will only remain for about 6 months, for in the fall of 2009, work will begin on the Beer Garden. Also, all McDonalds references will be removed from the SS Rustworthy, which should also be bulldozed in fall ’09.
  • One of Disneyland’s age old sponsors, Stouffers (owned by Nestle) have pulled out of their 45 year long sponsorship of the French Market. This is just part of Nestle slowly leaving Disneyland.
  • It seems written complaints are no longer accepted at Guest Relations in either Disneyland or DCA. It’s a long & complicated reason as to why, so I suggest you check the update for more info.
  • The Indiana Jones Adventure has long been due for a rehab, & unfortunately it still wont be getting one. However, many of the technical issues with the vehicles themselves have been fixed, so the attraction is operating slightly better. However a refurbishment really should happen.
  • This September, the slurry pavement out by the Haunted Mansion will be replaced with new, themed, concrete pavement.
  • The new DCA Preview Center in the old Seasons of the Vine building is currently planned to open up the second week of September, but as seen before, the date could change. It will open up with mainly concept, models, etc. for the Paradise Pier & Walt Disney Plaza re-dos. About every 8 to 10 months, the displays in there will be switched around to have anything from the Little Mermaid, to World of Color, & Cars Land.
  • Fantasmic! will be getting new HD projectors during its refurbishment this fall, that will vastly improve the clarity of the videos projected on the mist screens. Apparently these new projectors will be used on a much grander scale with World of Color when it debuts late 2009/early 2010. Also coming to Fantasmic! will be Flotsam & Jetsam from the Little Mermaid jetting around on jet skis during the Ursula section of the show. They will be 7ft tall, & 33ft long. Also, this January & February, Fantasmic! will be performed 7 nights a week due to Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams not showing due to the re-paving of Main Street.
  • Disneyland’s planned new parade, World of Wonder, has been pushed back from a 2009 debut, to a 2010 debut for the 55th anniversary. This is due mainly to the designs of the parade, which have similar, but grander scale, acrobats as used in the Pixar Play Parade. Because of this, Disneyland will be keeping Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams for one more year once it returns in March 2009, & Walt Disney World will also be keeping Disney Dreams Come True for one, maybe 2 more years.
  • As previously rumored, Tinker Bell should be a new addition to Disney’s Electrical Parade, as she’s due to replace the Blue Fairy as the opening float. Also scheduled to come to the parade is return of the Dwarfs Mine in the Snow White section, & potentially the whole Pinocchio section.
  • Finally, construction should begin this September on the replacement for Ariel’s Grotto, Pixie Hollow, this fall. 5ft tall blades of grass will shoot up in that area, & along the path you’ll get to meet each of the 5 Disney Fairies.

Be sure to check the update for many more news, rumors, & other interesting details from through-out the Disneyland Resort, & even the Anaheim GardenWalk!

Talkin’ Timon

WDWNT on August 7, 2008

Here is some video captured by our own John Corigliano of the new living-character head that Timon in Festival of The Lion King at Animal Kingdom is now sporting:

Minor Update: Sounds Late

WDWNT on August 6, 2008

In a minor update, the refurbishment of Sounds Dangerous Starring Drew Carrey and Golden Age Souvenirs at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been extended to include today. The attraction and the small shop are scheduled to re-open tomorrow with little to no major changes. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more becomes available on this story.

Monsters Inc. Sequel and Attraction in Development

WDWNT on August 6, 2008

It appears that Pete Docter and the people at Pixar are keeping busy working on some Monsters Inc. projects, according to IGN:

The collective clever clogs over at Pixar are hinting that one of their most successful flicks —Monsters Inc. — could soon receive the sequel treatment.

Speaking to MTV, Pete Docter, the director of the original, said, “We’ve thought about it. We’ve got a couple of ideas.”

He failed to elaborate further, instead saying that much of his team’s resources are currently being poured into the forthcoming Monsters Inc.ride at Walt Disney Resorts.

If you recall, we talked about a rumored Monsters Inc. themed roller coaster to be built for Disney’s Hollywood Studios sometime in the not-so-distant future. A number of Disney cast members also reported that a preview video of this proposed attraction was available on the Cast Member Hub website for a few hours about two weeks ago. With these two apparent leaks of confidential information about a future Walt Disney World attraction, we could expect an official announcement on the project very soon. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on this rumored project as it becomes available.

Star Wars: Last of the Big Figures

WDWNT on August 6, 2008

With the news a few months ago that Disney did not plan on making anymore big figurines in the original size for the Walt Disney World Resort, you can expect the upcoming Star Wars/Disney Character big figures being released this fall to be the last hope for the collectibles. If you interested in purchasing any of these pieces, you can get more information HERE. Expect to see these in various Art of Disney stores around the Walt Disney World Resort this fall if they survive the online ordering process.

Full Details on New Dining Plan

WDWNT on August 5, 2008

Here are the details on the new quick service dining plan Walt Disney World will be rolling out in 2009, provided by our good friends at Magical Travel:

New! Magic Your Way Package Plus Quick Service Dining

 

 
The Magic Your Way Package Plus Quick Service Dining includes Disney Resort accommodations, a Magic Your Way Ticket and a Disney Quick Service Dining Plan that offers 2 Quick Service meals, 2 Snacks (select dining locations) per person per night of the package stay, plus 1 Resort Refillable Drink Mug per person, per package. With this package, guests can save up to 20% per adult on dining.  

Dining Plan adds $29.99 per adult, $8.99 per child (ages 3 to 9), per night


For each PACKAGE NIGHT, clients with this package will receive:

2 Quick Service Meals

 One entrée OR one complete Combo Meal
One dessert (Lunch or Dinner) or one juice (Breakfast)
One single serving non-alcoholic beverage

2 Snacks

 Choose from:
– Frozen ice-cream novelty, popsicle or fruit bar
– Box of popcorn
– Single serving grab bag of Frito-Lay’s chips
– One 20oz bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dansani water
– Single piece whole fruit
– Medium fountain soft drink or apple juice

 Resort Refillable Drink Mug

 1 per person, per package

 

Electric Screams of Color: The Musical, This Christmas

WDWNT on August 4, 2008

Screamscape have posted a few interesting rumors from through-out the Resort, some of which we have already reported, but they give extra backing to what we have already said:

Some improvements are slated to be made to the Electrical Parade for Summer 2009. First off it seems that the California parade will import a couple of floats from the old Paris parade, namely a new Pinnochio float and the Diamond Mine float. Meanwhile we’ve heard that the Blue Fairy float is likely to be on the way out and will be replaced with a brand spankin’ new Tinker Bell float that will serve as the new lead float for the parade. Apparently the float itself will still use the old-school style lights like the rest of the parade, but Tink herself will be covered in new LED lights instead. Speaking of LEDs… apparently the plan is to install a few new LED effects in all the floats so that Tink can create some kind of magic effect at the start that will travel back through the rest of the floats in the parade.

While the improvements to the parade are likely to happen, the only question is if it will be in DCA or Disneyland.

In a disappointing twist, it seems that the real world Wall-E may not be coming to California Adventure after all. If the rumors are true something may have gone amiss with the first robot that we’ve all seen clips of already, that may be caused them to drop or delay plans to bring one to the park. Also due to construction on the Little Mermaid ride, there will not be another Golden Screams show held this fall. They may come up with some kind of replacement Villains concept in the Hollywood Backlot instead. And the fun news is that the new DCA Preview Center that will show off all the proposed changed coming to the park may be ready to open sometime this fall.

I have been hearing that they will actually close Golden Dreams as Golden Screams as soon as Halloween is over & then they will start work on the Little Mermaid. Although if you look at Disneyland’s official page for Halloween Time 2008, Golden Screams doesn’t appear to be listed. Time will have to tell on this one.

Early 2010 – Toy Story: The Musical – Rumor – (8/3/08) While I don’t know what the short-term plan is for the Aladdin show, we’ve heard that Toy Story: The Musical is now scheduled to open in early 2010 as a replacement. So I guess the question remains as to when exactly the current Aladdin show will close down.

2010 – Wonderful World of Color – Confirmed – (8/2/08) Sometime in very early 2009 I’ve heard that we may see the park drain the lagoon to do some of the extensive work needed for the upcoming World of Color night show.

And moving quickly over to Disneyland…

For the Holiday season we’ve heard that the park may add the “light up” snow effect to cover the front and back of the castle this year as well as expand it into the trees and garland in the hub and main street areas as well as the Town Square Christmas Tree. I’ve also been told that a new Toy Factory float will be added to the Christmas Parade to replace the old float.

I did once hear that what Screamscape is talking about might even be expanded to the Matterhorn, but I highly doubt that would happen. However, if the lighting effects do expand to the back of the Castle, that will make the whole thing look even nicer, & more complete!

The next few years at the Resort are going to be really exciting, & if even one of these rumors come true, I’ll be happy!

Refurbishment Updates

WDWNT on August 4, 2008

We have a couple more updates to the attractions refurbishments list. First up, it looks like the Harbor Galley, Conostoga Wagon, & Burger Invasion refurbishments wont last as long as we originally thought. The refurbishments will start on September 2nd & end on September 26th. It looks like they’ll all just get new menus, & have all McDonalds references removed. So it seems we’ll have to wait a little while longer for a Burger Invasion re-theme.

Also, last week it had looked like Disney moved back the refurbishment of the Hyperion Theater to start on September 29th, but that is no longer true, & will start as originally planned on September 2nd.

Finally a little update on It’s a Small World… The new flume apparently has apparently been installed, & the attraction will be going through a 10 week test & adjust phase, & if all goes according to plan, it will re-open on November 29th.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on all attraction refurbishments. And for up-to-the-minute information on the various refurbishments, be sure to check our Attraction Refurbishments page!