8/1/10 “it’s a small world” Refurbishment Update

WDWNT on August 2, 2010

The refurbishment of “it’s a small world” at the Magic Kingdom began August 1st and is scheduled to wrap-up on October 22nd. The only changes to the attraction we can confirm at this time include a queue reconfiguration and the moving of the attraction entrance back to its original location near Pinocchio’s Village Haus. The following photos were taken by Banks Lee on August 1st:

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Tarps wrap the entire facade

My favorite refurbishment sign EVER!!!

That sign should be moving down to the other end of the facade

oops….

The windows looking into the loading area of the attraction from Pinocchio’s Village Haus have been blocked

Rapunzel Coming to the Magic Kingdom? Small World Changes?

WDWNT on July 31, 2010

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Before we dive into the weekend, there are a few quick updates to share out of Magic Kingdom Park to end the week. First is a new character experience — a “play and greet” with characters Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder at the park’s Fairytale Garden. Beginning Friday, October 15, you’ll be able to interact with both of the stars from the upcoming Disney film “Tangled.”

The Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder experience will replace the current show, “Storytime with Belle” at Fairytale Garden. The final “Storytime with Belle” show will be September 12.

And some of you may have already heard about some downtime scheduled for “it’s a small world.” The attraction will be closed for refurbishment this Sunday, August 1 through Friday, October 22.

We’ll post more details on both of these updates in the future.

Now before anyone starts to worry that Disney characters are being added to “it’s a small world”, remember that Imagineers stated when the refurbishment was announced that “characters will not be added at this time”. However, this is from the same people who stated the Main Street Electrical Parade was leaving after August 14th, so, as usual, take that statement with a grain of salt. All that we can confirm is that Disney is taking this time to reconfigure the queue of “it’s a small world” and will move the entrance back to its original location near Pinocchio’s Village Haus (the entrance was moved during the huge 2004-05 overhaul of the attraction). Anything beyond that is simply speculation at this time. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on these Fantasyland changes as they become available.

All Signs Point to Golden Oak

WDWNT on July 30, 2010

WDWNT Reporter Jose Eber provides us with pictures of the newly revealed signage that will welcome guests to the Golden Oak development at Walt Disney World:

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School’s Finally Out, But Disney Channel Is In

WDWNT on July 30, 2010

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Earlier today we announced the extension of Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade at Walt Disney World, and if that’s not enough good news for a Thursday, there’s also a fresh, new show coming to the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort this Fall.

A live, rock-concert style show will blast popular music from a variety of Disney Channel hits, including the “High School Musical” series, “Camp Rock” and “StarStruck.” The show, which has yet to be officially named, will follow a format that is similar to “High School Musical 3: Senior Year – Right Here! Right Now!” The new show is scheduled to debut at Disney California Adventure park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios on October 22.

In order to make way for this exciting addition, the Wildcats from High School Musical will cheer in their last performance of “High School Musical 3: Senior Year – Right Here! Right Now!” at Disney California Adventure park on October 17 and Disney’s Hollywood Studios on October 2. Don’t miss your last chance to sing, dance and cheer with the Wildcats before school’s back in session, but rest assured the Wildcats will be back in a new way on October 22.

HP “Gets in the Game” at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

WDWNT on July 29, 2010

Walt Disney World Resort today announced an expansion to its long-term business relationship with HP, which now includes naming rights for the 165,000-square-foot fieldhouse at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Beginning today, the fieldhouse will be renamed with the HP brand and will feature several new high-tech elements designed to enhance the sports experience for the nearly 1.5 million athletes, coaches and fans who visit the complex each year.  HP also becomes the official imaging, printing and PC partner for ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, the leading multi-sports venue in the nation.

The centerpiece of the soon to be renamed fieldhouse will be the HP creation zone where athletes, coaches and fans can download, design and enhance commemorative photos and images of their events, then immediately produce and print them onsite.  The HP creation zone will also include a retail area featuring a variety of imaging-related products and options for youth athletes and consumers, such as creating life-size posters of action photos, custom wallpaper coverings for the home and other photo keepsakes/memorabilia.

“HP’s innovative technologies further differentiate the athlete experience at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in ways that no other youth sports venue can match,” said Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Disney Sports Enterprises.  “The HP technological enhancements in the complex are just the latest in a growing number of technology-driven projects that are at the core of our growth strategy, which centers around continually elevating the sports experience for our athletes, coaches and fans.”

There will also be an HP internet “café” capability inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Grill featuring HP TouchSmart PCs.  Individual stations will offer online access to a variety of sites, including ESPN.com, ESPNRISE.com, ESPNWWOS.com, Disney.com, Disneyworld.com and others.

The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Welcome Center, an onsite concierge facility, will offer kiosks that also feature HP TouchSmart PCs.  The kiosks, which will also be located at additional locations throughout the complex, will enable athletes and fans to access and print a wide range of sports event information, including field assignments and schedule updates, as well as general Disney information and resources, such as dining reservations and vacation planning tools for theme parks, resorts and water parks.

“The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex continues HP’s decades-long collaboration with Disney to captivate audiences through technology innovation and digital entertainment,” said Michael Mendenhall, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at HP.  “The HP fieldhouse will deliver the ultimate sports environment, combining state-of-the-art athletic facilities with a rich, interactive technology experience to extend the spirit and passion of sports beyond the field of play.”

The fieldhouse accommodates virtually any indoor sport, including basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, volleyball, martial arts, team handball, roller hockey, cheerleading and dance, trampoline and tumbling, indoor tennis, etc., in addition to concerts and conventions.  Opened in 1997, the venue has a seating capacity of 5,500 and room for six full-size collegiate basketball courts.

HP’s presence at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex extends the company’s long-standing relationship with Disney, which began in 1940 when HP worked with Walt Disney to enhance the acoustics in movie theaters before the release of Disney’s “Fantasia” movie.  Currently, HP sponsors the MISSION: Space attraction at Epcot and is one of the sponsors of the Disneyland Dream Home at Disneyland Park.  Disney is one of HP’s largest customers and utilizes thousands of HP business PCs, servers and printers, in addition to technology services, business intelligence software and storage.

The expansion of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex’s relationship with HP comes on the heels of the complex’s most comprehensive redesign since it opened in 1997.  In February 2010, the complex, which was already the leading multi-sport venue in the world, was re-imagined with the ESPN brand, bringing the signature elements of ESPN to the complex to create a one-of-a-kind sports experience that lets athletes, coaches and fans feel as if they’ve reached the big time with ESPN.

Electrical Parade Not Ready to “Glow Away” Yet

WDWNT on July 29, 2010

Not surprising, but I’m sure many of you will be excited to hear this news from the Disney Parks Blog:

Just as scores of you had hoped – we’re leaving the lights on and extending Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” at Walt Disney World. By popular demand, the parade at Magic Kingdom Park will continue an open-ended run when “Summer Nightastic!” ends on August 14.

It’s probably no surprise to hear that the parade has been one of our highest rated entertainment experiences at Magic Kingdom Park since returning in early June. It’s been an “overwhelming success,” according to Park Vice President Phil Holmes. And now, you’ll be able to continue cheering and humming “Baroque Hoedown.”

Of course, new elements of Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” will continue during the encore phase of the run. Those include:

  • Tinker Bell leads the eye-filling procession, waving from the basket of a balloon floating gracefully above a magical garden shimmering in fairy light.
  • Pinocchio and the boys from the classic film’s Pleasure Island sequence join the parade, and Snow White joins the Seven Dwarfs on a diamond mine float.
  • There are new lighting effects, and the parade’s highly recognizable musical theme is brightened by new technology.

Will you take advantage of the extended run?

WDW Monorail System Adds a “Line”

WDWNT on July 27, 2010

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Walt Disney World is preparing to expand its iconic monorail system — at least a little bit.

Disney said Tuesday it will build a 62-foot maintenance spur off of the system’s Epcot line to serve as a permanent staging area for one of the work tractors used by the resort to tow broken-down trains and inspect and repair track.

The extension will be built next to an existing track switch that is used to transfer trains between the Epcot line and a separate spur leading to one of the system’s two Magic Kingdom loops. Disney currently keeps all of its work tractors in a maintenance bay behind the Magic Kingdom.

The expansion plans were first reported by The Monorail Society, an organization that promotes the use of monorails.

Disney said it wants to have a tractor permanently stationed near the Epcot line in order to allow workers to begin inspections of that track earlier in the evening. Right now, crews typically must wait until the Magic Kingdom closes before they can dispatch a tractor to the Epcot line.

The Magic Kingdom is usually open several hours later than Epcot each night.

“We can begin our routine inspections of the Epcot beam as soon as the Epcot line cycles down for the night, before the Magic Kingdom park closes and with no impact to guests,” Disney World spokesman Bryan Malenius said.

Another advantage: The new spur should allow for faster responses when a tractor is needed to tow a broken-down monorail train to a station.

Last December, several of Disney’s trains were brought to a standstill after a computer hard-drive failure shut off power across the 15-mile-long monorail system. About 300 passengers were left stranded by the power outage, which occurred at about 1 a.m.; the last of them weren’t evacuated until close to 4 a.m.

Malenius said the addition will make it easier to get tractors to monorail trains that are stuck anywhere along the Epcot line or on the outer Magic Kingdom loop near the Transportation and Ticket Center.

Construction crews will begin excavation work soon. Disney expects to complete the project by the end of the year.