On May 1, 2014, Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrated 25 years at the Walt Disney World Resort with a special re-dedication ceremony and a one-time-only fireworks extravaganza! We have video of both of these epic events to share with you, so enjoy:
After a couple weeks of refurbishment, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure attraction at Disney California Adventure quietly reopened a few days ago with several major changes and additions. This isn’t the first time the attraction has undergone changes since opening in 2011; in 2012 new hand-drawn animation sequences were added to the ride as a copy of the attraction was prepared for Walt Disney World. Now, as Shanghai Disneyland prepares to open their version of the Mermaid attraction, Walt Disney Imagineering has once again decided to make changes to what they felt were problem areas in this new-age dark ride:
For those unfamiliar with the attraction here’s what’s new:
For those of you more interested with Walt Disney World happenings, we fully expect these changes to be made to Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid at the Magic Kingdom. When those changes might happen, well, we don’t know just yet…
In 2009, we saw Disney unveil plans for a New Fantasyland and a new Star Tours, but since then, the Parks and Resorts presentations at the D23 Expo have been almost barren of major announcements. However, 2015 is expected to be a year where Disney uses the event to reveal something big, perhaps simply based on the sheer amount of rumored, yet unconfirmed park projects that seem to be going on. Here’s a list of what’s currently going around the rumor mill and what are the most likely items we will hear something about during the 2015 D23 Expo, taking place August 14th through the 16th:
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Where do you even begin with this one? We are fully expecting the major reveal of the overhaul of this park at the D23 Expo, and if we don’t get one, there may just be a full scale riot at the Anaheim Convention Center that is simulcasted throughout social media. A name change for the park, a massive Star Wars themed land, and new PIXAR attractions are expected to be announced, but there may be even more. Speculation points to a revamped Fantasmic!, the arrival of the Red Car Trolley, a new indoor stage venue on Sunset Boulevard, as well as new parking entrances and multi-level structures also possibly being a part of the makeover plans.
Star Wars Land
While we aren’t expecting a ton of details, Star Wars Land will likely be announced for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park. While not much solid information is available , all we know is that the land will be HUGE, encompassing one entire side of DHS and taking up land from Critter Country to Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland.
New Nighttime Spectaculars
With Rivers of Light debuting at Animal Kingdom in 2016, rumors indicate that new nighttime entertainment is on the way to the other three Walt Disney World parks as well. We already mentioned upgrades to Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studios, but an IllumiNations replacement seems very likely for Summer 2016. What could be further off is a clone of the Paint the Night Parade for the Magic Kingdom, as well as a new fireworks show in the skies above Cinderella Castle, but these are also things that could be announced in 2 weeks time.
Star Wars Launch Bay
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Announced for Shanghai Disneyland, the Star Wars Launch Bay is “A kind of meet-and-greet mixed with a museum, promising immersion into a state-of-the-art cinematic experience.” This attraction is expected to land inside Innoventions at Disneyland just in time for the holidays and should be coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the not-too-distant future as well.
The MARVEL Universe
“The Marvel Universe is a similar experience, with a chance to meet the famous superheroes, as well as being briefed on a “multimedia mission,” while you can also learn to draw some of the characters.” Also announced for Shanghai, this experience is rumored for the second floor of Innoventions at Disneyland Park. More substansuial
Soarin’ Over the Horizon
It has been filmed and the digital conversion of Soarin’ theaters is completed in California and will be by next year in Orlando. It would be surprising if this updated version of Soarin’ did not debut in the U.S. between 2016-2017.
More About Disney Springs
There are some really interesting shopping and dining concepts rumored for Disney Springs that have yet to be announced.
MyMagic+
Disneyland Resort may never see a MagicBand, but a digital FastPass service and RFID ticket media will be coming to the west coast soon. The D23 Expo seems like a likely place for this announcement to be made, especially since some FastPass+ testing will be taking place in Anaheim soon.
So… which announcements would you like to see happen? Which ones do you actually think will happen?
With the D23 Expo just two weeks away, the announcement of the overhaul of Disney’s Hollywood Studios seems to be imminent. While we expect more concrete details at that point, rumor has it that Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream and Voyage of the Little Mermaid will close at the end of September 2015.
The exhibits and displays from One Man’s Dream should move to another location at Walt Disney World, meanwhile, guests looking to find the Little Mermaid can swim over to New Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom.
These closures are simply rumors at this point, but it is highly likely that both attractions will close at the end of Disney’s fiscal year on September 27th, 2015.
Beginning November 8, 2015, Garden Grill Restaurant inside The Land at Epcot will begin serving breakfast and lunch in addition to dinner.
The new Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Breakfast Harvest Feast will have all the fixin’s served in an all-you-care-to-enjoy family style. The menu includes breakfast favorites like biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, Mickey waffles, and Chip’s Sticky Bun Bake.
At lunch, look for the all-you-care-to-enjoy favorites from the dinner menu, like “Living with the Land” Harvest-inspired Farmer’s Salad (which utilizes greens from the attraction), char-grilled sliced filet of beef, roasted all-natural sliced turkey breast with freshly-harvested vegetables and various side dishes. The sustainable fish will only be offered at dinner.
For reservations, visit DisneyWorld.com/dine or call 407-WDW-DINE.
In a surprising move, current Disney’s Hollywood Studios vice president Dan Cockerell will trade places with long-time Magic Kingdom vice president Phil Holmes at some point in the next month. Phil Holmes has been the VP at Magic Kingdom for 14 years, starting his tenure in 2001. Cockerell has had his position at Hollywood Studios since 2011, previously being assigned vice president of Epcot. Disney announced they are moving Melissa Valiquette from director of operations at the Magic Kingdom to vice president of Epcot a few weeks ago as well.
Since Holmes has experience running the world’s most visited theme park, his leadership will be called upon to guide Hollywood Studios through what is expected to be a period of overhaul and expansion, including new Star Wars attractions.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the first change to the projection portion of Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the show’s 17 year history happened this week. Clips from Tangled, the Princess and the Frog, and of course, Frozen were added to the “bubble montage” portion of the show:
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While unexpected now, rumors are swirling that sweeping changes to the Fantasmic! show at WDW are coming in 2016 and the show may even go dark for a few months to install more major upgrades and bring in some new scenes. Since Frozen Summer Fun is not expected to return next year, rumor has it that a Frozen segment will replace the Pocahontas portion of Fantasmic! at that time. These changes are expected to coincide with the overhaul of the park that may or may not be announced at the 2015 D23 Expo.
Video by WDWNT Reporter Brian Carey
Glidden will be a new exhibitor at Epcot’s Innoventions starting this Fall. Guests to the Colortopia exhibit will be greeted and guided by a narrator, who will encourage unique interactions through fun hands-on activities. Guests will then be able to extend their experience throughout Epcot and at home with a mobile app that will launch later in the year. The exhibit replaces the Test the Limit Labs in Innoventions East.
Glidden of course licenses with Disney to provide a line of paints sold at Wal-Mart stores.
While we already told you about Soarin’ Over the Horizon likely coming to the U.S. Disney Parks soon, several other attractions announced this week for Shanghai Disneyland are heavily rumored to possibly come to the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts somewhere down the line. Here’s the breakdown:
TRON Lightcycle Power Run
The TRON Lightcycle roller coaster was long rumored for the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland before Shanghai Disneyland was even announced. The financial uncertainty of the franchise following TRON Legacy halted the project, yet it was green-lit for Shanghai. Even though the plug was pulled on TRON 3, chances are the ride in Shanghai is a good indication that the Walt Disney Company isn’t giving up on TRON just yet.
Rumor has it the Magic Kingdom version would occupy the cast member parking lot and former home of the Galaxy Palace Theater, with the outdoor portion wrapping around Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress… if it ever happens…
Disney California Adventure is rumored to be adding a launching Marvel coaster, so it wouldn’t make sense to also add a TRON roller coaster there. That would make it two launching roller coasters for them already with California Screaming’ in the park.
Eye of the Storm – Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular
We’re almost certain that this Pirates of the Caribbean stunt show will make it into the new, revamped Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The press release even states that the first version of the show will premiere in Shanghai, alluding to clones of the show in Florida, possibly even in California.
Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue
Yes, Buzz Lightyear rides already reside in the 2 U.S. Magic Kingdom-style parks, but it seems likely that the technology being used for this new version of the attraction will be implemented at the existing shooter-rides as part of upcoming Tomorrowland overhauls.
Fantasyland Attractions
With new versions of Peter Pan’s Flight and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh being built for Shanghai, we are expecting significant upgrades for both attractions at Walt Disney World in the next few years.
Peter Pan’s Flight at Disneyland has already implemented some new technology as of this month, but we still think more expansive upgrades are coming at the Magic Kingdom.
The Winnie the Pooh dark rides on both coasts are expected to receive a series of upgrades somewhere down the line as well.
Star Wars Launch Bay
The Star Wars Launch Bay is an experience where guests can interact with exhibits, view Star Wars props and displays, and meet Star Wars characters. This attraction will be the extent of the Star Wars presence in Shanghai, but much more is expected for Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park.
Rumor has it that the Star Wars Launch Bay will open in the former home of Innoventions at Disneyland before the end of 2015, with Walt Disney World rushing to do the same in one of the empty venues at Hollywood Studios. This will act as a placeholder until the Star Wars lands for each park can be completed in a few years.
With all of the announcements for Shanghai Disneyland last night, seemingly lost in the shuffle is the debut of a completely new Soarin’ attraction which will premiere in Shanghai first:
Soaring Over the Horizon
Anyone who has dreamed of seeing the world or soaring like a bird will enjoy the exhilarating experience at Soaring Over the Horizon, with an aerial tour of the globe never seen before. High above some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, Soaring over the Horizon will take travelers on a voyage of discovery that tours every continent. Starting from an ancient observatory nestled in the cloud forest, guests will soar and explore spectacular scenic wonders, with special segments for guests of Shanghai Disneyland overlooking Shanghai and The Great Wall of China. An ideal attraction for the entire family, it offers an original story, a new walk-through experience and a new aerial tour. The attraction is an epic re-mastering of the popular attraction at Disney California Adventure, in the United States.
As part of the press footage revealed overnight, WDI released clips of the filming of the new Soarin’, which will cover exciting locales around the world:
While it is unclear if the Great Wall of China will appear in the U.S. version when the time comes, we can finally be certain that a new version of Soarin’ has been filmed and should be premiering at Epcot and Disney California Adventure by 2017.
