For our first news post, we’re hearing that Monsters Inc- Mike & Sully to the Rescue at Disney’s California Adventure, which was originally supposed to open on February 14th, may of re-opened today. If you have ridden it please let us know.
We shall have more on this as it comes available…
The remaining dates for the after-hours Pirate and Princess Party at the Magic Kingdom are now on sale if you call 407-WDW-AHOY. Those new dates that have just gone on sale are:
April 1, 4, 6, 11, 16, 23
May 2, 9, 16, 21, 26, 31
June 2
Staff member Jose Eber has provided us with some live updates from the Walt Disney World Resort:
-Monorail Black returned from its refurbishment today. The monorail now has the four central handrails much like the other ten monorails which have already received the renovations. Monorail Red headed in for refurbishment today and is the last to recieve the modifications.
-The Earful Tower at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has received a glossy black finish on its ears and should receive its finishing touches any day now. The Animation Archway at the studios should receive new signage around the same time.
-The new marble tile at the Grand Floridian should be installed in the next 1-2 weeks.
-In what has become a frequent occurence, Space Mountain broke down and went out of commission at about 11:45 today. One wonders how much longer the big refurbishment for the Magic Kingdom attraction can be put off.
A press release on an exciting new weather safety exhibit coming this summer to Epcot’s Innoventions can be seen at this link. This is yet another part of the complete overhaul of Innoventions exhibits that we mentioned a few months ago here on WDW News Today. We will have more information on this upcoming exhibit as it becomes available.
BY DONNA BALANCIA of FLORIDA TODAY
A national search for the first-ever Chief Magic Officer has drawn 1,300 video resumes from around the United States, a Walt Disney World spokesman said Monday. The search for the on-park, part-time promotions job will be narrowed to the top 10 video resumes, which will be up and available for viewing and voting on March 2 at www.dreamcmo.com.
The three applicants with the most hits by viewers of the Web site will be brought to Walt Disney World in mid-April to compete in a variety of “reality show-type” challenges. The competition will be podcast live and viewers again will pick their favorite applicant. The application process closed Jan. 27. Applicants sent videos in response to a national search from Disney Parks and CareerBuilder.com. It is a part-time, hourly position open from May 2008 to May 2009. The position is offered concurrently with the “Year Of A Million Dreams.”
In order to accommodate work on the upcoming Block Party Bash parade at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, some changes have been made to the Stars and Motorcars Parade route. Staff member Sparky LD is reporting:
As of February 1, the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade now starts at the gate near Sid Cahuenga’s One of a Kind shop near the front of the park. It then progresses down Hollywood Boulevard and turns left in front of the Sorcerer’s Hat, following the regular parade route. It passes in front of Star Tours and continues down the hill past Tatooine Traders. It then turns left and exits the park at the gate near MuppetVision 3D.
Our friend Jim Hill over at JimHillMedia.com is reportingtoday that a new revamped concept of The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique currently operating at both the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney will be making its way over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the near future. The new version of the boutique will still offer makeovers to both little girls and boys, however, these makeovers will be themed to the Disney Channel favorites High School Musical and Hannah Montana. You can read Jim’s entire report on this developement at this link.
News has been slow about the upcoming Toy Story Mania attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but here are some small bits of information we have been able to pick up on:
-The new Pixar Place area is expected to be open sometime between March 20 and April 1, 2008.
-Soft Openings for Toy Story Mania are expected to begin between April 15 and May 1, 2008.
-The official opening of the attraction should be during the second week of June at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and Disney’s California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort.
We will try to provide more on the attraction as we get closer to opening day. None of the notes above have been officially confirmed, but are highly likely.
The Wolfgang Puck Express dining location in the Downtown Disney marketplace is currently going through huge renovations. It is scheduled to re-open in Spring 2008, but it is unclear if there will be any menu changes in addition to the complete remodeling going on right now. I hate to inject my opinions into a news story, but Wolfgang Puck Express is one of my favorite counter service locations at Walt Disney World. I am hoping that the delicious pizzas that the restaurant is known for will return with the restaurant on March 7, 2008.
Laughingplace.com has some excellent pictures and video from the revised Playhouse Disney Live on Stage show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Check out their coverage at this link.
The completely new version of the show that has been performing at the Studios for about 6 years, now features characters from Playhouse Disney shows such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. The new show began performances yesterday after being closed for a little less than a month.
