Category: Epcot

The American Adventure show at Epcot will be closed for refurbishment from January 7 through February 3, 2008 for refurbishment. It is rumored that the show curtains and lighting will be fixed during this time.

Since there seems to be an uproar in the online Disney community over the last 24 hours, I thought I would address the two biggest Disney World rumors floating around:

– It is being rumored that the new narrator for Spaceship Earth at Epcot will be famous actress Judi Dench. This is the first name other than Patrick Stewart that I have heard, so it seems there is a good shot at this being true. If so, this will mark the first female narrator for the attraction. I will try and gather more information on this before next week.

– One of the oldest rumors in Disney history has risen from the dead once again. The rumor of a Mt. Fuji roller coaster coming to the Japan pavillion at Epcot has once again made it’s annual appearance. I have not heard anything on this project in many years and would be really surprised if logistics would allow this to happen now. I will be talking about this rumor in more depth on our next podcast. Until then, stay tuned, and probably be careful of what you read. LOL

In the “we saw it coming, but is it really that much longer?” department, the opening of the new Siemen’s Spacship Earth at Epcot has been pushed back from November 13th, 2007 to February 19th, 2008. The pushback was pretty much expected from day one, but the latest deadline given for the project to finish was originally December 20th. The problems being experienced in the refurbishment range from major technical glitches in the new finale, to just the fact that they have not had enough time, enough money, or enough workers in the project. The same problems can be seen in the construction of the Yak and Yeti Restaurant at Animal Kingdom. The restaurant was supposed to open in October, now November, and is expected to be pushed back yet again. All of this also establishes something we mentioned here on the site a long time ago, that the new Spaceship Earth will bear little or no resemblence to the attraction that preceeded it.

Last night, the new Teppan Edo restaurant in Japan at Epcot opened to the general public. You can see pictures of the new restaurant over at our friends from Mousesteps.com.

– It seems most of the poeple talking about Epcot merchandise for today were wrong as usual. One limited edition shirt, a Figment bean bag plush, and the wide assortment of pins were all that was released today. The line for the pins was at least 2 hours long, and even those who arrived from 9:30am on were finding this amount of time to wait. Expect all the pins to sell out, as well as the Figment plush. The special shirts have already sold out in most sizes, but will most likely be gone by the end of the day as well.

– The rededication ceremony went off nicely as the park played classic/retro music. Nothing spectactular to announce, but a nice ceremony all around.

In response to the large amount of news that will be flowing into the site today, we will run headlines with the time they are posted.

– Epcot celebrates it’s 25th Anniversary today. Happy Birthday Epcot!!!

– The Fountainview Ice Cream location at Epcot is being painted blue as all of Future World central prepares to gain a new, more colorful look.

– The planned events for Epcot today include a re-dedication ceremony at 10:01 am and a special finale to Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Beyond that, expect a few big surprises!!!

For the last time ever, the Wonders of Life pavillion at Epcot is open for the Food And Wine Festival. The pavillion has been gutted and rethemed in some areas for the event.

In an event that defines a generation (I’m joking), the tarps on the Japan pavillion of Epcot’s World Showcase have finally come down. The tarps have been in place in some shape for the last two years and were finally taken down earlier this week. The Japan pavillion looks completely new, and will probably look even better when it’s newly refurbished dining locations open. 

The replacement of the legendary Alfredo’s at Epcot has opened to luke warm receptions and food. From the few people I have spoken to about the restaurant, I’ve gathered that they didn’t really enjoy their meals. Don’t let this stop you from trying the restaurant, it is still only a few days old and is still really in it’s testing phases. The current version of this restaurant will close in early 2008 and be remodled. A new restaurant with a new name, look, and menu will open late summer/early fall 2008.

The new exhibit entitled National Treasures will open in the American Adventure pavillion at Epcot on September 28th. The exhibit is said to be one of the most amazing colloections of Americana ever. We will have more coverage on this as it becomes available.