Dirk Wallen’s 11/3/14 WDW Photo Report (Walls Down at Disney Springs, New Concept Art, Big Hero 6, Christmas Merch, ETC)

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Disney Springs, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot this week and he has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us in this HUGE photo report, so let’s get started:

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Plenty of roadwork still to be done for Disney Springs

A new piece of elevated track is rising on the West Side, between Splitsville and Wolfgang Puck

We now know this large building with be the Boathouse

Disney announced this new restaurant concept last week

They wasted no time in adding ads to the walls for the restaurant

Concept art for the façade of the Boathouse

The small waterside park in The Landing opened this weekend

A nice little area for relaxing and live entertainment

Some of the buildings are out from behind construction walls in The Landing

New concept art for the area now on construction walls

There is a giant inflatable Baymax from Big Hero 6 on the West Side…

These storefronts in The Landing are just about done

The bridge in the Marketplace is also nearing completion

Two small, temporary stores operated by Something Silver opened by Fulton’s recently

The Marketplace bridge with the Rainforest Café façade refurbishment in the background

Shifting gears, Christmas merchandise has invaded the resort

Ornaments

Some Star Wars holiday pins were released

Plenty of Big Hero 6 merchandise is available around the resort

2015 calendars available

New “I Conquered” shirt

Iron Man and Captain America shirts

New Star Wars character glasses

New Darth Vader t-shirt

Some new merchandise was released at the Art of Animation Resort

Over at Epcot, walls finally came down around the area that was closed when a water main was hit after the Flower and Garden Festival

No visible progress at Norway’s Frozen attraction

We tweeted these weeks ago, but if you haven’t seen, some new retro EPCOT Center merchandise has been released

A quick stop at Animal Kingdom reveals work walls near Pangani Forest and Kilimanjaro Safaris

No visible changes at AVATAR, it’s impossible to see from inside the park

Moving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, work continues on Starbucks and the Trolley Car Café

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey…

Big Hero 6 merchandise carts replace the Frozen carts

Banners up in the Animation Courtyard

Work has finally begun on the Big Hero 6 meet and greet inside The Magic of Disney Animation

Big Hero 6 billboard by The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow

Let’s journey inside the new Wandering Oaken’s

Purchase with purchase Frozen bag available

Jim Shore has released some Frozen statues

Osborne Lights are ready to go

No more Backlot Tour…

VIDEO: Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights Preview Including “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Song, New For 2014

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Last night was the cast preview for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and we were lucky enough to attend the event and share with you what’s new and exciting for tea annual offering in 2014.

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The Spectacle is brought to you by Siemens this year

One new song was added for the lights to dance to in 2014, and interestingly enough Walt Disney world is continuing on its “The Nightmare Before Christmas” kick rather than Frozen. The new sequence is beautifully choreographed to Jack Skellington singing “What’s This?” from the 1993 film:

The “Made with Magic” Minnie Mouse Bow was recently released, just in time to dance with this year’s spectacle:

Not much else is new for this year, but the impressive light canopy on San Francisco street seemed to be working much better than in years past. You can see the canopy in action in our highlights video:

Merry Christmas!

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Hiro and Baymax “Big Hero 6” Meet and Greet Opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

The Big Hero 6 meet and greet with Hiro and Baymax finally opened today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to coincide with the release of the film. The meet and greet is located inside The Magic of Disney Animation replacing the Wreck-It Ralph meet and greet:

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The queue has portraits of the heroes









Hiro and Baymax




He can blink!





The most comfortably dressed theme park character of all-time…







Photos by Joe Hogarty, Video by Tom Corless

Tom Corless’ 11/17/14 WDW Photo Report (Disney Springs, Hollywood Studios, New Phone Cases, Big Hero 6, ETC.)

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

I recently visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney and I have a great deal of newsworthy photos to share, so let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting:

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The dancing ornaments are back at Hollywood Studios!

There are two limited edition pins for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights this year, no passholder pin for the first time in over a decade

CHRISTMAS CUPS!!!

With photo touchpoints at the exit of Tower of Terror, you have a limited window to tap your media in order to claim your photo without going to the counter

Sorry for the blurry photo, but here is what the beautifully themed touchpoints look like

All quiet back at Soundstage 1… for now…

More and more of the Studio Backlot Tour is vanishing…

New Frozen phone cases for 5C and 6 are now at Wandering Oaken’s

Both the summer and holiday Olaf MagicBands available at Wandering Oaken’s

Santa Goofy now also meets before the Spectacle of Lights from 1PM-5PM

Specialty drinks at Osborne Lights this year, notably there is no eggnog…

A child wiped out an entire display of cookies… this was the worst tragedy to strike the park since American Idol closed…

The poor cast members started to restock the shelf as the child still dug through the wreckage to find a cookie she wanted to buy…

Moving to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs, Christmas decorations are up

An elevated track piece has also appeared between Splitsville, AMC, Wolfgang Puck’s and Bongo’s

Work continues on the bridge in the Marketplace over Lake Buena Vista

A ton of new phone case designs were recently introduced at D-Tech On Demand at the Marketplace Co-Op

A look at some of the newer options to choose from

New ladies shirts at Tren-D

3 different holiday big figs are available this year

Walls came down around Riverboat Square, the new area in front of Fulton’s and Portobello

The path between Porotobello and Raglan Road opened, so you no longer have to travel the long way around

Some facades are out from behind walls in The Landing

The Boathouse

Another façade

Waterside Park, now open in The Landing

Another elevated train track by the West Side Starbucks, this one appears to be just a lighting rig and decorative piece

A giant inflatable Baymax from Big Hero 6 was erected for the opening of the film

Tom Corless’ 9/30/14 WDW Photo Report (Big Hero 6 Art, Backlot Tour, Rivers of Light, New Frozen Merchandise, ETC.)

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

It was quite the busy weekend at Walt Disney World, so I managed to visit all 4 parks to see what was new and have a ton of newsworthy photos to share with you in today’s report:

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The Studio Backlot Tour closed forever on Saturday

A Big Hero 6 exhibit can now be found at the Magic of Disney Animation

Moving over to Epcot, menu changes have been made a the Electric Umbrella

I decided to try the French Dip burger

It was surprisingly good!

I also tried the Pumpkin Macaroon from the France ice cream parlor and it was amazing.

Over at the Magic Kingdom, this low clearance was added in the bus stop to ensure busses go the right way through the loop

The awning on the boat dock at the entrance was replaced, it’s now red instead of green

The latest progress on the hub at the Magic Kingdom

The Astro Orbiter reopened this weekend, but you can read more about that here

The leave-your-phone charging stations in Tomorrowland have all been closed, the test period came to an end and we’ll now have to wait to see if it was a success and is brought back

New Space Mountain ladies’ shirt

New men’s “I conquered Space Mountain” shirt

This artwork was previously on a black t-shirt and slightly different

Dumbo character sketches are now being sold at Big Top Souvenirs

New Beast plush for sale at Bonjour Village Gifts

Instead of selling generic items, there is a now a Beauty and the Beast shield toy

If you don’t have a FastPass for it, prepare to arrive at Be Our Guest at park opening to get a return time to eat lunch there or you’ll be turned away

Even more of Sir Mickey’s has been taken over by Frozen merchandise, even Ariel merchandise got pushed out

Some new Frozen artwork for sale

A two-sided Olaf ceramic ornament was just released

Queue work continues at Peter Pan’s Flight

We thought it would only be at Disneyland, but the Zero popcorn bucket was released at the Magic Kingdom! It costs over $13 but has a light-up nose feature

Strange new t-shirts…

LOVE this new sweatshirt!

Odd new Magic Kingdom shirt

Simple, but nice

Halloween 2014 Duffy

Some of the Haunted Mansion 45th anniversary lithographs have made it to Florida

An awesome new print by Alex Maher

In preparation for “Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It!”, video screens are being installed on the floats

Moving over to animal Kingdom, it’s still a mess

At least all of the construction walls are decorated now

The UP meet and greet has seen better days

“it’s tough to be a bug” re-opened this weekend

Most of the nets installed to protect guests from falling particles have finally been removed from the queue

There are still nets by the base of the tree, not sure if these will stay here

work is picking up on the new nighttime show, Rivers of Light

The Everest shrine is behind walls and probably will be until the construction is done in late 2015/early 2016

Since one of the Wilderness Explorers’ answers is behind walls, they made a copy and placed it on the walls

The walls wrap around most of the river

We can peek through and see that the construction vehicles are already in place, ready to start working on the show and viewing area

Some sort of new structure is going up by Flame Tree Barbecue

An Oswald Christmas ornament was released

Hollywood Studios To Offer “Frozen Holiday Premium Package” Starting in November

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

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With Frozen Summer Fun now over, Disney has decided to continue to fight for your money with a different premium package at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: the Frozen Holiday Premium Package.

Offered November 7 – 19, November 21 – December 9 and December 11 – January 4, 2015, this package includes reserved seating for a performance of “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” at the Premiere Theatre, and reserved Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights viewing and Frozen-themed dessert party (which will feature mini Anna cupcakes and mini Elsa cupcake, among other treats) in the evening, and a holiday themed lithograph and “Frozen” pin for each guest.

The package costs $89 per adult and $59 per child (ages 3 – 9), plus tax (gratuity is included). Valid theme park admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is required and is not included in this package price.

For more details, or to book, you can call 407-939-1854.

Another premium package? Have at it in the comments…

VIDEO: Take One Last Ride on the Studio Backlot Tour at Walt Disney World, See What It Looks Like Now

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

If you weren’t able to say goodbye to the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Saturday (you were only given 8 days from the announcement of the closure to actually do so), we have a special treat for you. Enjoy a full ride-through, including the pre-show in its entirety, of the Studio Backlot Tour on its very last day of operation after 26 years:

By Sunday, September 28th, the former entrance to the attraction looked like this:

The news of the Studio Backlot Tour closing was broken by WDWNT.com on Friday, September 19th, 2014. Rumors persist that the area may be used for small scale Toy Story attractions, a smaller version of Cars Land from Disney California Adventure, or possibly even a Star Wars-themed land. No official announcement for the replacement project has been announced by Disney at this time.

BREAKING: Guests Can Only Ride Toy Story Mania Via FastPass+ This Week

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

In a strange test, Walt Disney World guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios now through Friday will need a FastPass + to ride Toy Story Midway Mania. Walt Disney World is attempting to offer enough FastPass+ throughout the day to fill the attraction to capacity, not allowing any guests to use a standby queue or use the Disability Access Service (DAS) to ride. Disney will not even allow guest relations cast members the ability to offer access to the attraction to appease any disgruntled guests during this period.

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The reasoning for this test is to see if attractions offered by reservation-only can be successful, eliminating long lines by only taking on the amount of guests the attraction can handle at one given time. Similar tests and policies have been applied at attractions and meet-and-greets over the last several months, but this is the first time that absolutely no attraction access will granted via a method other than FastPass+.

With Disney making more than the usual allotment of FastPass+ reservations available, guests can still obtain a FastPass+ for Toy Story Mania through Friday as of right now. In short, guests visiting this week without a FastPass+ reservation are not out of luck just yet.

It is unknown if this test is somehow related to rumors that a third track for Toy Story Mania will be constructed, including rumblings that the new track maybe be used only for guests with FastPass+ reservations, or just a test to see the feasibility of offering attractions via FastPass+ only.

PHOTOS: New Theme Park, Movie, and Television Exhibits Added to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream at Hollywood Studios

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

While the New Fantasyland model was removed a few weeks ago, it seems some new exhibits are coming to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Over the weekend, some new vintage items and Walt Disney Imagineering models were added to the attraction:

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Toys and merchandise near the Multiplane camera, some of it new, some pieces moved around

Toys and merchandise near the Multiplane camera, some of it new, some pieces moved around

Toys and merchandise near the Multiplane camera, some of it new, some pieces moved around

New Silly Symphonies items

Most of the items in this Mickey Mouse Club display are the same, but the Cubby shirt is new

Where the Zorro costumes once were, there is now Spin & Marty and Zorro merchandise items

Where the Zorro costumes once were, there is now Spin & Marty and Zorro merchandise items

Where the Zorro costumes once were, there is now Spin & Marty and Zorro merchandise items

Where the Zorro costumes once were, there is now Spin & Marty and Zorro merchandise items

Where the Zorro costumes once were, there is now Spin & Marty and Zorro merchandise items

The display which once held the Golden Horseshoe costume and the Columbia is now blacked out, so a new exhibit should appear here as well

New Mystic Manor from Hong Kong Disneyland model on display

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

Further updates to the exhibit should be on the way, so stay tuned for pictures of any new additions that may come.

Hiro and Baymax “Big Hero 6” Meet and Greet Coming to Hollywood Studios and Disneyland This Fall

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Hiro and Baymax from the upcoming Disney animated film “Big Hero 6” will soon be greeting guests at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts…

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At Walt Disney World, the Magic of Disney Animation will host the new meet and greet where guests are visiting the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology and then see the pair in Hiro’s garage workshop. This meet and greet will replace the Wreck-It Ralph meet and greet that opened in 2012.

At Disneyland, the meet and greet will be near the Starcade in Tomorrowland, inside Hiro’s robotics workshop.

No exact date for the opening of either venue has been provided, but it should be just before the release of the movie in November 2014.