Disney Springs Parking Structure Opening Date Revealed, Surface Lots to Close

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

The first parking garage at Disney Springs is essentially complete, and will open for “Cast Member previews” beginning on November 2nd, ahead of the “Early 2015” date Disney started to publicize a few months back when the project seemed behind schedule.

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The structure will first open to the public on November 20th. Floors 1 through 4 will be fully open by December 1st. The top floor will open at a later date.

With the opening of the parking structure comes the closure of Downtown Disney surface parking lots A-G on December 1st.

Work will begin on the second parking structure for Disney Springs and the new Town Center district on December 1st as well.

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…

Frozen Characters and Jack Skellington as “Sandy Claws” Added to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2014

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

There are a few new offerings to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom this year:

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  • New to “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade” this year, Ralph and Vanellope from “Wreck-It Ralph” and Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, & Olaf (New, walk-around character version) from “Frozen” are all now included.
  • The “Holiday Hootenanny!” will be held in the Diamond Horseshoe in Frontierland, a dance party with the Country Bears, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, and Clara Cluck. Over at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in Tomorrowland, Club Tinsel is hosted by Phineas and Ferb.
  • Storybook Circus will host favorite Disney pals dressed up for the occasion, including Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Scrooge McDuck, and Santa Goofy.
  • You’ll also find Jack Skellington in Storybook Circus – dressed in his finest “Sandy Claws” suit and ready to meet the boys and girls of every age!

First Look: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2014 Event Map

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

If you want to be ahead of the crowds when you visit Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year, well, you’re in luck as we have the entire event map at your disposal a little early (Click the picture for a larger image if needed):

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Note that there are two nightly showings of A Frozen Holiday Wish as opposed to the customary single showing of the original Cinderella show.

Also note that the annual Disney Parks Christmas Parade is being referred to as the Disney Frozen Christmas Celebration…

VIDEO: “A Frozen Holiday Wish” Debuts at The Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

“A Frozen Holiday Wish” debuted today at The Magic Kingdom and we’ve got it recorded and uploaded to share with you. The show features Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf as they light up Cinderella Castle in over 200,000 LED DreamLights. Unlike it’s predecessor, A Frozen Holiday Wish utilizes projection mapping (the same found in Celebrate the Magic) prior to the DreamLights turning on. Go ahead and enjoy the full show and leave your thoughts below in the comments.

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

New “Comfort Food” Dining Options at Columbia Harbor House, Contempo Cafe, ESPN Club, and Sassagoula Floatworks

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Even when you’re in the Walt Disney World bubble, sometimes you crave the familiar, such as good old reliable comfort foods. Here’s a collection of some of the new comfort foods available at the Walt Disney World Resort and where to find them:

When I think of comfort food, the first thing that comes to mind is macaroni and cheese. At Columbia Harbor House in the Magic Kingdom, they’ve upped the ante at dinnertime by adding lobster and shrimp to their macaroni and cheese.

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Also on the dinner menu is the piping hot chicken pot pie, filled with tender white-meat chicken, vegetables and gravy and topped with crunchy breadcrumbs.

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Contempo Café at Disney’s Contemporary Resort offers a beef pot roast with seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy, that’s available only at dinner.

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Contempo Café also recently added some new flatbread pizzas to their menu, such as the smoked pulled pork flatbread, topped with barbecue sauce, Monterey Jack cheese and vegetable-style slaw.

 

ESPN Club at Disney’s BoardWalk features chicken and waffles with a kick—jalapeno-cornmeal waffles topped with buttermilk fried chicken and Angry Maple chicken gravy.

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Brand new on the menu is a barbecue pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich served on thick-cut brioche. Reports are that it’s as good as it sounds.

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Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter is serving up four new loaded baked potato meals, each served with a side of soup or salad. Choose from a baked potato topped with one of the following: barbecued pork; broccoli, cheddar, and bacon; chili and cheese; or chicken, bacon, and cheddar. I have a feeling that whichever you choose, you can’t go wrong.

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More Details & Concept Art Leaks for Downtown Disney’s Conversion to Disney Springs

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Well, here we go again. You may remember when we “leaked” the original concept art and plans for Disney Springs in early 2013, but even with a formal announcement following that, Disney has remained very quiet through many stages of the construction process on this overhaul of Downtown Disney. Today, we have uncovered some recently released documents that point to more of what is on the way for Disney Springs.

The now confirmed back story of Disney Springs involves a town that grew around local springs. The Marketplace is essentially the suburbs where residents moved to as the town experienced a boom. The Landing is a commercial district with a train station, bottling co. (Morimoto Asia), dock, and a large ferry boat (Fulton’s). The Town Center is the shopping center of the area and will feature the bulk of the retail options for Disney Springs. The West Side feature remnants of the abandoned train tracks, but is a thriving entertainment district. Further speculative details on the back story can be found in our original pre-announcement story. It seems the original document is pretty much on par with the finalized back story.

Now, let’s get into some new details and concept art for the neighborhoods of Disney Springs, starting with the West Side:

  • On the West Side, Food Truck Park (which will otherwise be known as Exposition Park) slated to open this Summer will now be opening by the end of November 2014.
  • The abandoned elevated train tracks in that are will be called the Sunshine Highline. We still expect this to offer lounge and bar areas when completed.
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Waterview Park area of The Landing, looking towards Raglan Road

  • The new park that recently opened in The Landing next to the Boathouse is called Waterview Park. As you can see in the concept art above, there will be a fountain and more trees added soon.
  • In the next 6 months, The Landing should open with 12 retail locations and 7 restaurants including the Boathouse and Morimoto Asia.
  • The walkway between Paradiso 37 and the other stores to the West Side should be open by Thanksgiving
  • BET Soundstage and the Adventurer’s Club locations have been confirmed as venues for new restaurants, so the Adventurer’s Club return rumor can now be ruled out.
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New pathway between Raglan Road and Portobello, facing Boathouse in The Landing

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The path recently opened while work on the new buildings continues

The new, renovated area in front of Fulton’s and Portobello is Riverfront Square. Walls have come down in this area already:

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We did not get much in the form of new details about the Town Center area, but we did get several new pieces of concept art for this area replacing the Pleasure Island parking lot:

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The entry plaza for the Town Center

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The Town Center

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The entrance to Town Center from the new bus loop

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The Town Center

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The entrance to Town Center from the Marketplace parking structure

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New pedestrian bridge over Buena Vista Drive into the Town Center bus loop

Some notes on the Marketplace:

  • The lake will be called “Lake Buena Vista”, because, believe it or not, it wasn’t called that already.
  • The World of Disney expansion will come out towards Town Center, modifications inside of the store are already taking place
  • More pedestrian bridges will be built over Buena Vista Drive leading guests to and from Hotel Plaza Boulevard.
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The Disney Springs master plan

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A closer look reveals the World of Disney expansion and new pedestrian bridges to Hotel Plaza Boulevard

So, what do you think?