“Glow with the Show” To Become “Made With Magic”, Interactive Wands, Hats, and Gloves Coming Soon to Disney Parks

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Goodbye Glow with the Show! Starting with the release of some new interactive, light-up items at Disney Parks, all Glow with the Show technology and the use of it with now be referred to as “Made with Magic”. Shows that offer Glow with the Show currently will be referred to as “Made with Magic” enabled entertainment.

“Made With Magic” items will interact just as Glow with the Show ears have with select experiences at the Disney Parks. The original Glow with the Show ear hat first introduced a few years ago will continue to be offered, but there will also be  new items including a Minnie Mouse-inspired headband, a Mickey Mouse glove, and a magical wand before the end of 2014.

The Sorcerer Mickey wand will have multiple light-up functions and will give guests the ability to change the light patterns of other newly-titled “Made With Magic” items. Guests can also place the Made With Magic items in a color-changing demo mode, when they aren’t watching or near a “Made With Magic”-enabled event.

As with the  ear hat, all Made With Magic items will interact with experiences at Disney Parks around the world regardless of where the items were originally purchased. Each item will have a retail of $25.00.

Guests should look for the Minnie Mouse headband to arrive in late October and early November in select merchandise locations at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. The Mickey Mouse glove and the Sorcerer Mickey wand will be introduced in late November to early December at those same locations.

If you haven’t seen the Glow with the Show ear hats in action at the Disney Parks, we have several videos in which you can see them at work:

Glow with the Show (now “Made with Magic”) interacts with the following entertainment (some items offered seasonally):

Disneyland Resort

  • Magical!
  • Remember, Dreams Come True
  • Fantasmic!
  • World of Color
  • Cars Land (Different areas initiate different colors)

Walt Disney World

  • Wishes!
  • Celebrate the Magic
  • Fantasmic!
  • The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
  • Villainy in the Sky (special events)
  • Frozen Fireworks (special events)
  • Happy HalloWishes
  • Holiday Wishes

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BREAKING: Luigi’s Flying Tires in Cars Land to be Removed; New Attraction in Development for Florida Cars Land?

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Disneyland released an upcoming refurbishment for early 2015 today, and interestingly enough, Luigi’s Flying Tires in Cars Land is listed as closed January 12th through December 1st, 2015.

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Rumors have been circulating lately that the ride would be remodeled or replaced with a new, trackless “flat” ride starring Luigi and Guido from Cars, but this is the first confirmation from Disney that the attraction is closing. What exactly is planned is still a mystery, but it would seem that it may be connected to Cars Land clones being developed for other Disney resorts around the world. Rumors persist that part of the overhaul at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would involve Cars Land, or at least some of the offerings from the popular California Adventure offering and it’s likely they wouldn’t want to make any mistakes that they made the first time around by building this ride again. For Disney to invest so quickly in a replacement, there would have to be strong financial reasoning for change, and developing a new ride for multiple locations makes sense.

Luigi’s Flying Tires never scored very well as far as guest satisfaction as the lines were very long for a ride that had a bit of a learning curve to it. Guests were often burnt-out on the attraction after waiting over an hour just to play with the tires for the first time, probably only getting the hang of it just seconds before their ride was over. Luigi’s Flying Tires was meant to finally be the spiritual successor to Disneyland’s ill-fated Flying Saucers from the 1960’s, but it seems it will suffer the very same fate.

To add excitement to the attraction, large beach balls were placed on the ride floor when the ride opened in June 2012. Guests could send the balls high into the air by bumping into them throw the balls at one-another. The balls were unfortunately removed shortly after the ride opened as a few guests who were hit with the balls complained to guest relations cast members. Lines for the attraction dwindled following this removal and they have never quite recovered.

So, is this the end of Luigi’s Flying Tires? It seems so. If you would like to say goodbye to the attraction, you have two-and-a-half months to do so. If you can’t make it, you can relive the experience through our video:

 

CONFIRMED: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow at Hollywood Studios Closing November 6th, The Sorcerer’s Hat to Follow?

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Evidence continues to mount that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is about to undergo a major facelift…

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With the Studio Backlot Tour now shuttered and most of the smaller offerings in the Backlot section of the park slated for demolition by early 2015, rumors are now circulating that the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow attraction at the park has only a week left to live. The show opened in December 2012 to fairly poor reviews as most guests expected a full-blown attraction and were instead met with a confusing interactive projection show. In order to combat waits, Disney has offered this attraction by return times only for the past several months. Apparently things have not improved and/or Disney feels the space could be better utilized for something else now green-lit for the park on a verge of a full overhaul.

Rumors still persist that time is almost up for the Sorcerer’s Hat, but other than its usual exclusi0n from merchandise and a single map, there has been no solid information. However, older expansion plans for the park did include the removal of the current park icon, so if an expansion is coming, it would be likely that the Sorcerer’s Hat would finally be demolished.

Stay tuned as we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

UPDATE: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will close at the end of the operating day on November 6th, 2014. No other information has been released at this time.

CONFIRMED: The Sorcerer’s Hat at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to be Removed in Early 2015

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

If you’re a fan of Walt Disney World (which we assume you are if you’re reading this site), then you have probably been wishing for the removal of the Sorcerer’s Hat at Disney’s Hollywood Studios since 2001 when it was erected. Well, Disney confirmed to cast members today that the Sorcerer’s Hat will indeed be coming down in “early 2015”.

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Disney’s message to cast members today read:

“We will soon begin to re-imagine the park’s central hub by removing the sorcerer’s Hat in early 2015. As part of that change, the store located underneath the hat will be closing, A closing date will be shared as we get closer to it.”

The Sorcerer’s Hat was erected in 2001 as part of the 100 Years of Magic celebration, but was also used to block the Chinese Theater façade of the Great Movie Ride which Disney no longer had the rights to use in merchandise or marketing materials. Rumors of the Hat’s removal have been swirling for years until now. The removal of the hat is expected to be a part of the remodeling of the park which includes the removal of attractions in the Backlot area such as the already-shuttered Studio Backlot Tour, as well as the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow which closes on November 6th. Rumors indicate that lands based on Toy Story, Star Wars, and Cars are likely for the park in the next few years. However, only time will tell.

FROZEN Summer Fun Sing-Along Celebration and Wandering Oaken’s To Remain At Hollywood Studios

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

Walt Disney World sure has gone Frozen crazy…

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“For the First Time in forever” A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration is set to run on at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, along with the Trading Post and Frozen Funland that have made up Wandering Oaken’s for the last few months. While the continuation of these offerings is official, no further details have been provided as to if the offerings will have downtime or are changing venues as rumored. Disney did state that Wandering Oaken’s (minus ice-skating) is moving closer to the Sing-Along, but we can only speculate that would mean the now vacant AFI Showcase at the exit fo the Backlot Tour. It was also rumored that the Sing-Along show would move to the now empty Superstar Television Theater, but that has not bee mentioned either at this point.

Hopefully we’ll hear more about this soon…

9/16/14 UPDATE: It has been confirmed that the Sing-Along Celebration will in fact remain at the Premiere Theater while the snow playground portion of Wandering Oaken’s makes a new home in the former AFI Showcase at the exit of the Backlot Studio Tour. All Frozen merchandise is being relocated to Legends of Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard, across from Villains in Vogue.

RUMOR: PIXAR Place Expansion at Hollywood Studios Imminent; 3rd Toy Story Mania Track To Be Constructed?

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

OK, this one sounded far-fetched when I first heard it a few weeks ago, but it seems to be gaining a lot of traction…

So, it seems the reason that Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Frozen Funland is on the move is to free up Soundstage 1 next door to Toy Story Midway Mania. Since 2008, that location was the rumored location for the proposed Monsters Inc. Door Roller Coaster that will now likely never see the light of day based on the disappointing box office and merchandise sales (at least in Disney’s eyes) from Monsters University. Well, the plan as it now exists would see a third, separate track for Toy Story Midway Mania constructed inside of Soundstage 1, perhaps to be used as a FastPass+ guest only track. This would add 50% more capacity to the ride which has been overburdened pretty much since the day it opened. Toy Story Midway Mania was supposed to be a solid ‘B’ or ‘C’ ticket attraction for the park, but exceeded all expectations with its continued popularity.

It is certainly no secret that Hollywood Studios will see major changes in the coming years and a Star Wars Expansion of the park is sure to take place following the beginning of the new trilogy in late-2015, so making sure the capacity around the rest of the park is higher is a priority. Other minor PIXAR attractions could also be constructed around the area where the Backlot Tour entrance and Studios Catering Company currently stand, but we’re only guessing that at this point. Who knows, we even may still see Cars Land take over more of the space down the road as the land expands south in the park.

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Your Toy Story Mania wait time may be a lot shorter soon…

The rumors emanate from some Studios cast members who have heard rumblings about the changes, as well as several guests who have spotted Toy Story Mania vehicles being pieced together outside of Walt Disney World Central Shops behind the Magic Kingdom, so this seems like a real possibility at this point.

I know it sounds crazy, but the PIXAR Place expansion maybe happening, it just might be very different from how we envisioned it…

BYE-BYE BACKLOT TOUR! Hollywood Studios PIXAR Place Expansion Coming, Many Current Attractions Closing Soon?

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

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I know you’ve heard this one before, but it seems like the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is finally closing. A few days ago we told you that once Soundstage 1 at the park moves Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Frozen Funland out, work is set to begin on a third track for Toy Story Midway Mania inside of that building. Well, now it seems like the area surrounding Soundstage 1 will be used for the rest of a large-scale PIXAR Place expansion.

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Likely coming to the park are some of the small, flat-rides developed for Toy Story Playland at Disneyland Resort Paris and Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland including RC Racer, Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin, and the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. The attractions possibly on the chopping block take up much more room than these small rides would, so chances are the remaining space would be used for Cars or Monsters Inc. attractions.

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Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland, also being built for Shanghai Disneyland and exists at Disneyland Resort Paris

Operating hours calendars released to cast members currently have only a few days of October hours for many of the offerings in that area, including the Monsters Inc. meet and greet, the Studio Backlot Tour, the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure, the Coke Bottle food stand, Studio Catering Company, and High Octane Refreshments next door. All of these attractions have no dates posted past October 11th. So, in short, all of these offerings might be closing on October 11th, one week after the closure of Maelstrom at Epcot. All other attraction operating hours are listed through January, so you can see why it’s awfully suspicious that all of these items in one area are not listed after a date in mid-October.

These operating hours combined with rumblings among Disney employees all seem to point at a PIXAR Place expansion, but nothing is set in stone quite yet and some of this post is pure speculation based on what we have heard so far. We will certainly keep you posted as more develops in this story, but it truly seems like after 25 years that we will see the end of the Studio Backlot Tour.

What do you think? Are you excited for these possible changes?

Tom Corless’ 9/23/14 WDW Photo Report (Frozen Store, Disney Springs, Hollywood Studios, ETC.)

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

This weekend, I visited Downtown Disney/Disney Springs as well as Disney’s Hollywood Studios and I have a number of newsworthy photos to share with you from my trip, so let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting!

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Disney Infinity 2.0 for sale at Once Upon a Toy

The remodeling has begun at the World of Disney store: the pirate displays were ripped out and replaced with this temporary display

Work on the new pedestrian bridge in Marketplace continues

If you’re complaining about the lack of Android or iPod cases at WDW, the sun damage to these packages should indicate how poorly they sell compared to iPhone cases

Some of the pavement between Portobello and Fulton’s has come out from behind walls

The new pathway through Pleasure Island/ The Landing is nearing completion, so you’ll be able to walk between Raglan Road and Portobello soon

Legends of Hollywood is now a Frozen store on Sunset Boulevard at Hollywood Studios

With Wandering Oaken’s closing on the 28th, this will be the home to all Frozen merchandise at the Studios

Even the window display got dressed up for Olaf

A look inside

There’s even pressed pennies!

Not Frozen, but I spotted this awesome new pressed pennies book in the store

OLAFS!!!!

Character portraits can be found near the ceiling

New, 2-sided ornament

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Over at One Man’s Dream, the New Fantasyland model is gone and the old exhibits are back

At Muppetvision 3-D, a new soon-to-be interactive element was spotted hanging in the pre-show

Goodbye…

Frozen Summer Fun at Hollywood Studios Extended Through September 28th

WDWNT on September 5, 2014

If you were sad that Frozen Summer Fun would be ending on September 1st, you can wipe those tears away as the event has now been extended through September 28th!

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The Frozen Fireworks show will continue nightly through September 1st, but will only be presented on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays September 5th through September 28th. All of the other festivities that are part of Frozen Summer Fun will continue daily through the 28th.