VIDEO: Go Inside Enchanted Tales, Gaston’s Tavern, Be Our Guest Restaurant, & Journey of the Little Mermaid in New Fantasyland!

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

Disney released a video to cast members showing the current state of New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. You must watch this…

The video gives a first-time inside look at Enchanted Tales with Belle, Gaston’s Tavern, the Be Our Guest Restaurant, and Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. There’ even a look at some castle wall and Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train construction. Let’s closely examine some screenshots:

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The Lumiere animatronic looks pretty fantastic

The enchanted portal that will take guests into the library

Animatronic of the wardrobe

Entrance to the Be Our Guest Restaurant

Lobby

One of the dining rooms

The ballroom

Another dining area with the statue we showed you a few months back

Inside Gaston’s Tavern

The statue outside

He uses antlers in all of his decorating!

Entrance to Under the Sea

The queue

Loading area

Current Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train construction

So, excited for New Fantasyland yet? December 6th is just around the corner!

Adam Roth’s 8/7/12 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney on Tuesday and has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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Work continues on Princess Fairytale Hall

Castle Wall construction rolls on

Plenty of turrets installed now

The Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train is being enclosed

It may look like snow on top of Under the Sea, but they are actually installing real grass as they weren’t happy with how the green paint looked

You can actually see the entrance to Big Top Souvenirs now

The rock-work over the backstage entrance looks good

Let’s see how the Dumbo interactive queue is doing

Pretty cool system the Cast Members sue to track the capacity

It was pretty busy

My favorite part of this queue?

LED fireworks!

Looking beyond Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak…

The canopy is finished on what we expect to be a small food service location themed to Humphrey the Bear

A look back at Dumbo

The photo-op with the ride vehicle has returned

A quick stop at the Contemporary for our first look at the new RFID pay system where guests can use Key to the World cards by just pressing it up to the Mickey icon, provided a credit card is on file

Work continues on Splitsville, set to open in the Fall

Characters in flight is still down for maintenance

But in the meantime, you can buy merchandise to mark the day you didn’t ride it…

No Pleasure Island… No Hyperion Wharf…

Work continues on the new volcano at Rainforest Cafe

Looks like they are getting ready to install the “D-Tech Me” area

Cool castle mosaics available as part of the Castle Collection currently being displayed at the Disney Gallery in California

Thanks for reading!

Reservations for New Fantasyland’s “Be Our Guest” Restaurant Open August 20th!

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

Well, you have been asking us for months and Disney has finally answered the question: You can make your reservations beginning at noon August 20 at 407-WDW-DINE for Be Our Guest Restaurant in New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.

You can make reservations for up to 180 days out – the very first seating will be for dinner on November 19 by calling 407-WDW-DINE (3463), or visiting any Guest Relations theme park location or Guest Services desk at a resort. Online reservations will be available beginning two days later on August 22 by visiting www.disneyworld.com/dine.

On the Disney Dining Plan, Be Our Guest is one quick-service entitlement for lunch, and one table-service restaurant entitlement for dinner. Guests will be required to give a credit card number when making reservations and it will be charged if they do not show up for their reservation, as is policy with many other popular Walt Disney World restaurants. Disney also provided a short description of the restaurant:

Lunch is quick and casual, with guest-activated terminals that make ordering a snap (there also will be traditional cashiers for cash orders and special dietary requests). You order, take a seat and lunch is delivered to your table – on china, not paper. Dinner is table service.

Cuisine is French-inspired to match the hit animated film’s theme, with three themed dining rooms: the mysterious West Wing with the “enchanted rose”; the Rose Gallery with twirling, larger-than-life figures of Belle and Beast; and the elegant Ballroom with domed ceiling, twinkling chandeliers and glimpses of softly falling snow outside.

So, who’s ready to wait on hold for a few hours on Monday afternoon?

Dirk Wallen’s 8/16-19/12 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen was all over the Walt Disney World Resort this weekend, visiting Downtown Disney, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. He took some great photos on his trip and has them to share with us in this photo report:

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Looks like the Earful Tower is being painted or repaired

At the Magic Kingdom the Bakery has been out from behind tarps for a while now

The old Swan Boat dock is getting refurbished at the moment

Work continues on Princess Fairytale Hall

The Castle Walls are approaching completion

We still can’t go on the second level of Village Haus to take photos…

More grass being placed on the facade of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

The structure for the new Fantasyland restrooms is coming along nicely

The Yankee Trader is open but behind tarps

The Crow’s Nest is still being worked on

Next-Gen FASTPASS has been installed at Haunted Mansion, but it is still covered

Work is wrapping up on the Tomorrowland bridge and we can now see new futuristic railings have been installed

Another look at the Swan Boat dock

Another look at the work on the new bathrooms

Moving over to Epcot, Habit Heroes is still closed!

Epcot 30th anniversary merchandise is starting to hit shelves, like this awesome lanyard!

Perry the Platypus/Phineas and Ferb snacks are available, but I’m more interested in what’s on those Epcot-only popcorn buckets and cups…

A permanent DVC booth is being built next door to the Canada pavilion

Phineas and Ferb topiary still up

A quick stop at Downtown Disney shows us the progress on the new Rainforest Cafe volcano

Moving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there’s a Frankenweenie ad in the parking lot

The first sign of work on The Legend of Jack Sparrow is this blue coat of paint on the building matching the colors now used for the Superstar Television Theater complex

Oz billboard behind the Great Movie Ride

Frankenweenie as well

Wreck-It Ralph and Frankenweenie up in the Animation Courtyard

Finding Nemo banners hanging in the courtyard

At the end of PPIXAR Place, you can find this Finding Nemo billboard

Halloween merchandise is out!

Awesome shirt featuring the Haunted Mansion and the Fab 5

Another shirt has the Hatbox Ghost

Our last stop is a look at Grand Floridian DVC wing construction

It’s coming along…

Adam Roth’s 8/18/12 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

WDWNT’s diligent reporter Adam Roth was on the scene at Walt Disney World this weekend, visiting Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. Adam took a number of newsworthy photos on his trip, so let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting:

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Art of disney at Epcot recently was refurbished and is now open once again, now featuring the Castle Collection merchandise

Looks like they just cleaned up the place a bit

They did rearrange some shelves

Work continues to prepare a new entrance at the Seas with Nemo and Friends

This new wave awning replaces the plain umbrellas that had been here

Work continues on a new entrance, presumed to be a new queue for Turtle Talk with Crush

Work continues on what we believe is a DVC booth near Canada

Bistro De Paris is gone…

It will be replaced with a new restaurant from the same company after 30 years at Epcot

The bakery is also being expanded

Construction walls up inside the shop next door

Food and Wine Festival preparations underway

No more Vanity Fair, now the sponsor is Chase

Nice to know that the new patio at Tutto Italia can be enclosed in bad weather

This fountain outside of La Hacienda has been like this for months…

The new exhibit inside the Mexico pavilion seems to be just about finished

Donald was meeting guests inside

The Cool Wash by Test Track is still behind walls

Work continues on Test Track

Heading over to the Magic Kingdom, we can see Grand Floridian DVC construction

AVENGERAIL!

It now advertises the home video release of the film

It turned into a nice day

The Country Bear Jamboree is closing for a few months this week

Some people seem convinced the show will be shortened and some songs will be removed

Shaker says “Probably not”

Trixie would be sad…

Gomer is befuddled

Some people think Big Al will be cut… yeah, OK…

The Yankee Trader is now behind tarps as work continues on the new path and restrooms in Fantasyland

Next-gen FASTPASS looks ready to go at the Haunted Mansion

The store is open during this

A strange structure has risen on the Skyway site which makes these people angry at each-other…

Chubby Moonliner?

I’m not sure what that is supposed to be

Next-gen FASTPASS installed at Peter Pan as well

People like to lean on things

The castle walls are nearing completion

Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train construction

Work continues on Princess Fairytale Hall

Caught someone picking their nose… fantastic!

Just like in the concept art, Prince Eric’s castle is visible just over the mountain

Next-Gen FASTPASS at Winnie the Pooh

More grass appearing on the roof of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

Big Top Souvenirs

Next-Gen FASTPASS installed here as well

The presumed Humphrey the Bear counter service location through the trees

Looks like a sign will be installed soon

Another look at the roof grass…

Work continues on the Tomorrowland bridge

And the old Swan Boats dock

Infrastructure for the eventual move to RFID tickets is being installed at the Magic Kingdom entrance

Another look at Grand Floridian construction

“Celebrate the Magic” Set to Replace “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” in November

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

Say goodbye to “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” on September 3rd as Disney prepares for a new nighttime projection show called “Celebrate the Magic”, debuting in November. As the “Let The Memories Begin” campaign draws to a close, the show is expected to be shedding the guest photos in turn of a “storytelling” show like Wishes! or Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.

“‘Celebrate the Magic’ takes us on a journey to the heart of the most beloved Disney stories and characters,” said Show Director Katy Harris. “This amazing show will magically transform Cinderella Castle with spectacular projection effects, choreographed to a new music soundtrack. The show will be full of emotion and storytelling, proving that, with imagination and magic in our hearts, anything is possible.”

Some of the more popular elements from “The Magic, the Memories, and You!” will remain in the show, meaning this is simply a re-packaged version of the spectacle meant to hold over guests for a while. I suspect that the original plan was for there to be no replacement show, but the current program just proved to be too popular at the Magic Kingdom. At Disneyland, they are not replacing “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” after it ends on September 3rd based on the lighter crowds it usually has there. However, I expect this show to go away at Walt Disney World once a new nighttime spectacular is designed to replace Wishes!; one that will combine the projection technology of “Celebrate the Magic” with the pyrotechnic displays of a nighttime foreworkls extravaganza.

So, what do you think of this?

New Pre-Parade Dance Party Added To Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

Don’t worry, they aren’t getting rid of the classic Headless Horseman portion of Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade, they are just adding some pre-parade entertainment:

While the dance party-type things aren’t always my favorite, I do enjoy when they actually provide entertainment while guests are waiting for something. So, what do you think of this new Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party offering?

Tom Corless’ 8/23-8/29/12 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

I visited the Walt Disney World Resort last week covering all four of the theme parks and I have plenty of newsworthy pictures to share, so let’s take a look at what’s happening around the Vacation Kingdom:

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The Rainforest Cafe sign inside Animal Kingdom is still missing

Beastly Bazaar is closed to become a character meet and greet experience this Fall

Wreck-It Ralph has taken over the display at the exit of the Magic of Disney Animation show

Vannelope is voiced by Sarah Silverman

That cake looks so real…

The game Fix-It Felix is inspired by games such as Rampage and Donkey Kong

Ralph even started as a monster just like one you would find in Rampage

Niceland is the city in the game

Ralph and Felix

Hero’s Duty might end up being the darkest looking scenes in any Disney animated film ever…

Hero’s Duty is inspired by games such as Gears of War and Halo

Voiced by Jane Lynch

Sugar Rush is inspired by games such as Mario Kart

Looks like a possible villain to me…

They were painting the next Ink and Paint Cell to be released while I was there

A Hatbox Ghost big figure has been released

There’s also a new Stitch figure

For the first time in ages, the decorations in The Studio Store do not represent a single new film!

Nice to see the original intended decorations back for once

Banners for Finding Nemo 3D up

The LEgend of Jack Sparrow building was painted blue

Walls are now up near the front of the building

The menu has been drastically changed at Backlot Express

BUFFALO CHICKEN BREAST NUGGETS! AHHHHHHH!

Next-Gen FASTPASS preparations already made at American Idol

Moving over to Epcot, work continues on the new Disney Vacation Club booth near Canada

A strange wall has popped up in the queue for Journey Into Imagination

Possibly FASTPASS related?

The Kim Possible sign-up areas in Innoventions have been completely removed

While passing by on the monorail we could see that the new parking lot for the Grand Floridian DVC wing is almost complete

Moving on to the Magic Kingdom, the park is ready for Halloween

There is a new banner at the beginning of Celebrate a Dream Come True

I’m not sure when it happened, but Mickey and Minnie are in normal clothing on their float

The Junioe Jungle Boats outside of the Jungle Cruise have reportedly been closed permanently

Next-gen FASTPASS ready to go at the Jungle Cruise

Same at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Meanwhile, some rather drastic queue modifications have been made at Pirates of the Caribbean

There is now a point where the two queues meet

Work continues on the former Fantasyland Skyway site, soon to be home to a new walkway and restrooms

Thought this was an interesting shot as it gives you an idea of where the Mine Train will be as you walk into Fantasyland

Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train construction

The Castle Walls are nearing completion

Some work being done on the roof of Mickey’s Philharmagic

Most of the Snow White facade is now gone in preparation for Princess Fairytale Hall

Grass continues to be installed on the roof of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

The signage has been installed on Big Top Souvenirs in Storybook Circus

I LOVE the popcorn lights…

FOOD!

Some new Space Mountain shirts are available

Moving back to Fantasyland, the lights were on inside the Castle Walls

Lights were on in the Beauty and the Beast area as well

They were testing lighting on the turrets of the Castle Walls as well

The Mickey-O-Lanterns are much brighter and actually flicker this year

Cinnamon Rolls and Apple Freeze Fill-Up Guests at Gaston’s Tavern

WDWNT on December 21, 2012

If you enjoyed Red’s Apple Freeze from Cars Land at Disney california Adventure, you’ll be happy to know that the signiature beverage of Gaston’s Tavern in New Fantasyland is the same: “a no-sugar added frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow, topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam”. The new drink will be called LeFou’s Brew, named after Gaston’s bumbling sidekick. The drink will also be available in a souvenir stein or goblet as seen above.

If the drink isn’t your thing, Gaston’s will also specialize in fresh cinnamon buns which will be served all day long.

So, are you excited for Gaston’s Tavern?