PHOTOS & VIDEO: Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Debuts Beautiful Waterfall Marquee to Welcome Guests

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

You may as well strike “Disney’s Polynesian Resort” from your vocabulary, because the name change is in full-effect now…

photo 2

The waterfall is just to the left of the main motor vehicle entrance for the resort and marks the first permanent signage at the resort to reflect the new name so far. To really appreciate how nice the sight is at night with the running water and lighting, we also have a video for you to enjoy:

The name change and cosmetic overhaul of the resort is in preparation for the opening of the Disney Vacation Club wing of the resort in early 2015.

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

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

backlot-tour-580-1

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.

Untitled

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.

Tsl001

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

Pins

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…

Walt Disney World Testing MemoryMaker Sales with Park & Party Tickets Through 10/31

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

Currently, MemoryMaker at Walt Disney World can only be purchased at two price points, one for advance purchases and another for day-of purchases. Starting immediately, guests can be part of a test which allows them to buy 1-day park or Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tickets that include the MemoryMaker.

1492682_10151843766983325_1028333014_o

These tickets that include MemoryMaker can only currently be purchased at the ticket sales locations at the Transportation and Ticket Center. Guests who purchase the 1-day park tickets and/or party tickets will receive a MagicBand as well. The testing period will last through October 31st. Ticket prices are as follows (all include tax):

  • 1-day Magic Kingdom ticket with MemoryMaker: 146.97
  • 1-day Park Hopper ticket with MemoryMaker: 184.25
  • 1-day Water Parks Fun & More (Includes 2 “Fun” visits): 205.55
  • 1-day Park Hopper Water Parks Fun & More (Includes 2 “Fun” visits): 233.24

The ticket with MemoryMaker is also being tested on all remaining Mickey’s Not-so-Scary Halloween Party nights:

  • Party Ticket for 9/28/14: 107.57
  • October Party Tickets: 112.89 for nights priced at $67 normally, $117.15 for nights priced at $71 normally

Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic Returns in 2014

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic returns for the fifth year to the Epcot Resort Area hotel October 31 – November 1, featuring more than 40 food and wine stations; 10 food and wine seminars and the opportunity to meet the masters behind the culinary magic. 

sdfwc_logo

Amidst a backdrop of live entertainment, celebratory surprises and even some spooky fun on Halloween night, guests will enjoy numerous opportunities to sip and savor all weekend as they stroll along the hotel’s causeway.

The two-night event offers an enticing array of culinary options from the hotel’s award-winning signature restaurants:  Il Mulino New York Trattoria, Shula’s Steak House and Todd English’s bluezoo, as well as wine and spirits sampling from around the globe. 

The food selections are as innovative as they are enticing, ranging from Italian arancini, marrying Carnaroli rice, Osso Buco and spicy tomato sauce, and the Asian-inspired grilled scallops with puffed rice, edamame and ponzu jelly; to barbeque handcrafted bacon, accented with sweet potato puree and caramelized onions. And, the hotel’s World Champion Pastry Chef, Laurent Branlard, provides intrigue on the sweeter side with finishing touches like a chocolate crunch Napoleon with hazelnut daquoise and chocolate whipped cream, and a lemon peel mousse dome with blueberry cream and lemon angel food cake at its center. 

“We’re excited about the fifth annual Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic,” said the hotel’s Director of Food & Beverage, Tony Porcellini. “This year, we’ll present even more intriguing wine selections from around the globe; showcase our culinary creativity with exciting new dishes; expand on our seminar offerings, and introduce a beer garden! Our goal is to make this event bigger and better each year and have fun doing it!” 

New to the event this year are:

  • A beer garden, featuring a variety of local and seasonal brews from around the world, alongside homemade bar snacks made by the hotel’s culinary experts. An upgraded ticket option provides guests access to the beer garden.  
  • The Cheese Course seminar, which pays homage to fromage with a unique look at the art of wine and cheese pairing.
  • The Fine Art of Sushi and Sake seminar, which will teach guests how to identify quality sushi and sake flavor profiles and pair the two.
  •  A hands-on Caipirinha seminar, where guests will learn both the traditional recipe and try some unique twists to this ever-popular Brazilian cocktail.
  •   Tequila University, offering an in-depth look at tequila, its different styles, the artisans who make it and the secrets to making the perfect margarita. 

Returning seminars include: pasta-making, Italian wines, modern mixology, beer, wine-blending and champagne.  All seminars require separate tickets in addition to the causeway tickets, and space is limited.

To add to the event’s appeal, guests can enjoy a meet and greet with celebrity chef Todd English, the namesake of the hotel’s Todd English’s bluezoo restaurant. Guests can also meet and enjoy world-class desserts from the hotel’s very own executive pastry chef, Laurent Branlard, the world’s only two-time World Champion Pastry Chef.  Barbeque fans shouldn’t miss the Cib’s Smoke House station for signature barbeque dishes from the hotel’s executive chef Robert Ciborowski.

With 17 restaurants and lounges, a distinguished culinary and beverage team and unmatched customer service, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel continually receives national recognition for its food and beverage program. The hotel boasts more than 70 certified wine sommeliers and 1,400 wine selections, including organic and rare vintages.  The hotel’s restaurants are annual winners of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence including Shula’s Steak House, a three-time recipient of the exclusive Best of Award of Excellence.

Tickets to the Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic are available as part of a hotel package or individually.  For more information or to book, please visit www.SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com or call 1-800-227-1500.

 

What:             

Fifth Annual Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic

 

Info:                

The Fifth Annual Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel returns October 31 – November 1, showcasing a vast array of food and beverage options along with informative seminars conducted by members of the hotel’s award-winning food and beverage team. Highlighting the event is the appearance of celebrity chef Todd English.

The Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic consists of 10 food and beverage seminars, live entertainment, a new beer garden and more than 40 food and beverage stations, featuring appetizing selections from the hotel’s signature restaurants: Shula’s Steak House, Il Mulino New York Trattoria and Todd English’s bluezoo, as well as wines, beers and cocktails from around the world. 

 

When:            

Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1

5:30–9 p.m. (for seminar schedule, check www.SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com)

 

Where:            

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel Causeway

1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd.

Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830

 

Ticket Information:  

-One and two-night packages, including tickets to the outdoor festival for two and overnight accommodations, are available starting at $315 per night

– Advance purchase event-only tickets are available for $95 per person, including taxes and include unlimited food and beverage samples on the causeway

-Upgraded tickets that include the beer garden are $115 per person, including taxes

– Beverage seminars are $45 per person, per class including taxes

– Pasta making and pairing seminars are $60 per person including taxes

– For more information or to book, please visit www.SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com or call 1-800-227-1500

Upcoming Vinylmation Spotlight: Villainous Duos

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

from DestinationVinylmation.com

This is part of a series of articles spotlighting the Vinylmation that were previewed at this year’s annual Walt Disney World Pin and Vinylmation trading and merchandise event, “The Imagination Gala.” The event was held at Epcot’s World Showplace from September 5-9, 2014. Today we look at the new Villainous Duos series.

Last year at Reflections of Evil, attendees were given the opportunity to vote for who they thought was the “Most Villainous Duo”.  Our choices were Si & Am from The Lady and the Tramp, Pain & Panic from Hercules, and Flotsam & Jetsum from The Little Mermaid.  After voting was over, we were told that the winner would be turned into a limited edition two-pack, which would be sold at the Imagination Gala the next year.  The winner was revealed to be Si & Am, and Maria Clapsis went on to release this set, which was sold to us at the Gala:

ddd

At the Gala, it came to be revealed that Si & Am were in fact going to be the first in a brand new series.  This new series turned out to be “Villainous Duos”, a line of limited edition two packs featuring famous evil duos throughout the history of Disney films.  (It also turns out that it didn’t really matter who we voted for, because all of the characters ended up making the line).  We got 4 new reveals from this line at the event, which will start rolling out in November 2014 (November will see the release of set #2, since Si & Am are being considered #1 in the series).  Here are the reveals:

Imagination Gala 2014 355b

# 2 Pain & Panic (Hercules)

November 2014
Maria Clapsis

Imagination Gala 2014 522

Here we have Pain & Panic, Hades little minions from Hercules.  These guys are going to be the second release in the line.  I think both of these figures are exponentially better than the release we got in Villains #4.  Although that design did these characters justice, I just love how they look here.
Having them both stare up at the Fate’s eye that is drawn in Panic’s ear is a really cool design that tells a whole story.  Pain also looks great on the platform, since he is drawn a little chubbier.

#3 Flotsam & Jetsum (The Little Mermaid)

December 2014
Maria Clapsis
photo 4 (3)
Love Love LOVE how these two look here!! Although I was a big fan of how they looked as the chaser in The Little Mermaid series, I think Maria absolutely blew it out of the water (pun intended) here! The way they kind of wrap around the platform with the sand drawn in between looks great.  And I love how the arms that were used for Dory in Pixar #2 are working well here.  Finally, thanks so much to Crystal, who posted the following image, justifying while the silhouette of Ariel and Flounder is flipped in the ears here (and effectively proving Nick wrong):
circle_19

#4 Anastasia and Drizzela (Cinderella)

January 2015
Maria Clapsis
Imagination Gala 2014 524
A simple, but effective design for both of these characters.  The Minnie platform is a fantastic touch here, since both of these characters love their dresses and bows.  And the expressions are priceless here.  If you’ve ever tried to have your picture taken with either of these characters at the parks, you know especially how funny they look here.  I spoke in an earlier post about how I liked how limited edition releases were being used as extensions to series, and I’m looking at this as an extension to the Cinderella series coming out.  We don’t get these characters in that set, but I like how you can kind of “add them in” by picking up this release.

#5 Jafar and Iago (Aladdin)

February 2015
Dave Perelo
Imagination Gala 2014 359b
I have to say, I think this is the weakest Jafar that we have gotten so far, which ultimately makes this the weakest of the five sets for me.  The Villains #1 Jafar chaser, and even the Robots #4 Jafar, look significantly better than the Jafar here.  Iago, on the other hand, I think looks great.  I love the little touches of blue on the hands and feet that gives him a sense that he’s flying.  And the feathers in the ear are perfect.  I think this is a good set, just not as strong as the other four we got previewed.
So that’s it, all five “Villainous Duos” sets.  Let us know in the comments which one’s are your favorites.  And if you picked up Si & Am at the Gala, will you be continuing with this line?

Vinylmation Spotlight: Mickey and Friends – Pirates of the Caribbean

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

from DestinationVinylmation.com

This is part of a series of articles spotlighting the Vinylmation that were previewed at this year’s annual Walt Disney World Pin and Vinylmation trading and merchandise event, “The Imagination Gala.” The event was held at Epcot’s World Showplace from September 5-9, 2014. Today we look at the upcoming Mickey and Friends Pirates of the Caribbean reveal/conceal set.

In my opinion, the Mickey & Friends Haunted Mansion series will go down as one of the top sets of 2014. So when the idea of a Pirates of the Caribbean version of this Reveal/Conceal concept was brought up, I was all in! After all, I am more of a fan of the wildest crew that ever sacked the Spanish Main than the 999 happy haunts. The mansion version was huge win for many reasons. Just increasing the revealed character to 2 instead of 1, made a huge difference in a 5 or 6 figure set. Having a mix Cast Member costumes and attraction characters was a great choice. And handing the Haunted Mansion set to the talented Ron Cohee assured the best looking characters we could possibly have. All that said, Mickey & Friends Pirates of the Caribbean takes a giant leap backward.

Imagination Gala 2014 306

Let’s count the ways… First, there is only 1 revealed figure. That is a big mistake for a Vinylmation set. Second, the figures are NOT based on the attraction, but rather the movie franchise. You have a HUGE library of beloved attraction characters! And third, the artwork is really sub par. If this set was in Ron Cohee’s hands, we would have such a different outcome here. Instead, the design duties went to a different artist on the DDG team. They look like a simplified toy version and are probably based on the toys/action figures that have been in the stores for years (which I do love and collect by the way).

Here is a look at the set starting with the Mickey Mouse revealed character and then the 4 concealed characters:

Mickey Mouse as Jack Sparrow

Mickey Mouse as Jack Sparrow

Donald Duck as Will Turner

Donald Duck as Will Turner

Minnie Mouse as Elizabeth Swann or Angelica?

Minnie Mouse as Elizabeth Swann or Angelica?

Pluto as the Dog with Jail Keys

Pluto as the Dog with Jail Keys

Stitch as Captain Barbossa

Stitch as Captain Barbossa

I’ll be honest, I can not definitively tell if Minnie is Elizabeth or Angelica. She seems more like Angelica, but the hair makes me lean toward Elizabeth. Although I think both characters wore a red coat and handled a sword in the movies. I am just very disappointed in this set because I love the concept and the attraction and I think the execution was fumbled. We will see this limited release series released in November at D-Streets for $24.95 per combo blind box. For those not familiar with Reveal/Conceal, each purchase will get you a Mickey that you see and then a blind box attached that contains either Stitch, Minnie, Donald or Pluto all seeded at the same odds.

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Astro Orbiter Resumes Flights; New Color Scheme for Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

IMG_9164

Over the last few months, there had been some speculation that the new colors adorning Rocket Tower Plaza (home to the Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, and the Lunching Pad) would spread beyond the center of Tomorrowland and perhaps mean a new color scheme and look for the entire Magic Kingdom realm. Well, with the re-opening of the Astro Orbiter and the Disney Vacation Club booth nearby this past weekend, it seems Tomorrowland is about to get a fresh, bright new look…

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

Teal, orange, white, and lime-green make-up the new colors on the DVC booth

Astro Orbiter rockets are now predominantly blue, with beige, red, and green accents

These colors will likely extend to other buildings in Tomorrowland later, but are just in the center area for now.

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

The now-orange elevator shaft that lifts guests to the loading platform for Astro Orbiter

The Astro Orbiter re-opened with not only fresh paint on the rockets, but also a completely reconstructed centrifuge. With the new spinning structure, the rockets angle inward a bit more when you steer upwards, creating a sensation that you may spill out towards the center. The surrounding planets and such on the structure will no longer spin as it was decided the effect was just too unreliable over the years. Many a time, Disney would spend months working on fixing the planets, only for the effect to break a few weeks later. Regardless, we have a video of the updated attraction for you to enjoy:

So, what do you think of the new Astro Orbiter and the new Tomorrowland colors?

VIDEO: World Showcase Players Say Goodbye to Epcot After 32 Years

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

Untitled

The World Showcase Players (under various titles) have existed in Epcot’s World Showcase since 1982, entertaining guests and amking them a part of the show. The group was referred to as the World Showcase Players as they performed in the U.K. and Italy for a number of years, before being reduced to shows only in United Kingdom a few years back. The entertainment group performed for the very last time on September 25th, 2014 and we have video of each show that they performed that day to share with you: