The Mighty McDonald’s Moves Out for Obscure Chicken Chain

WDWNT on February 4, 2010

Both of these articles from the Orlando Sentinel published today tell an interesting story, the story of an obscure fast food chain replacing McDonald’s in the Downtown Disney Marketplace:

Pollo Campero, an international Latin chicken quick-service restaurant chain, has partnered with Levy Campero to deliver a new restaurant concept in Downtown Disney Marketplace at Walt Disney World Resort. The restaurant, which is scheduled to open in late 2010, will feature Pollo Campero’s signature Latin cusine, as well as fresh, and healthful foods. Menu items will include Latin chicken, yuca fries, sweet plantains, and Latin drinks including horchata and tamarindo.

Pollo Campero, the world’s largest Latin chicken restaurant chain, serves more than 85 million customers each year at more than 300 restaurants in 12 countries around the globe. This includes more than 50 locations already open in the United States, with additional stores scheduled to open this year.

Fast-food giant McDonald’s is leaving Downtown Disney.

The McDonald’s restaurant at Walt Disney World’s shopping-and-dining district will close April 30, Disney said this afternoon. It will be replaced by Pollo Campero, a Latin chicken fast-food chain.

Pollo Campero says it serves more than 85 million customers a year. McDonald’s says it serves more than 47 million customers a day.

Representatives for Disney World and McDonald’s said the exit stems from a 2004 decision to end a 10-year exclusive sponsorship agreement between McDonald’s Corp. and Walt Disney Co. The Downtown Disney restaurant was included in that agreement.

“Our alliance partners are ever-changing and this shift in our relationship with McDonald’s reflects the dynamic nature of the sponsorship business,” Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said.

McDonald’s said all of its employees at the Downtown Disney were offered transfers to other McDonald’s locations and that no one would lose their job as a result of the closure.

McDonald’s will continue to operate its restaurant near the entrance to the Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.

“We will continue to work with Disney on mutually beneficial opportunities,” McDonald’s spokeswoman Danya Proud said.

D23 Spring 2010 Magazine Reveals “Fantasyland Forest” and Possible 40th Plans

WDWNT on February 2, 2010

The Spring 2010 issue of Disney Twenty-Three magazine features a huge article on the Fantasyland Forest expansion (as it is now being referred to according to the article), featuring some never before released details on the project. Here are just a few interesting notes from the article that should be arriving in members mailboxes any day now:

-In early 2006, Walt Disney Imagineering’s Eric Jacobson, creative lead for the Walt Disney World portfolio, and members of WDI’s Blue Sky Studio, led by Jon Georges, began brainstorming new E-ticket-like attractions for the Magic Kingdom. Imagineering’s creative leaders quickly determined that a bold reimagining of Fantasyland would have a far greater and longer-lasting impact on the Magic Kingdom experience than any one E-ticket attraction could ever hope to make.

-That physical separation is a stone wall that will lead from Fantasyland proper into a heavily forested realm that will be far more organic and natural than the bricks, mortar, and asphalt of the existing land. “The expansion area won’t be built over the Utilidor,” Eric says, “so we’re able to plant trees and create water features, which we were never able to do with the rest of Fantasyland.”

-The expansion, which has come to be known as Fantasyland Forest, will provide more fully realized homes for such longtime Magic Kingdom residents as Ariel and Dumbo as well as make room for some new additions to the neighborhood, from Belle and east to Tinker Bell and the fairies of Pixie Hollow. And that was part of the Imagineering team’s goal from the beginning.

-“Our anchor is the Little Mermaid,” Jon explains. “The centerpiece of that area is Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, an E-ticket attraction we codeveloped with the Disney’s California Adventure expansion team. It’s a ride-through experience that celebrates the characters and music from the animated classic.” And true to Imagineering’s goal to create the most immersive fantasy environments possible, the attraction is housed in an elaborately and highly detailed rockwork grotto behind a fully rendered version of Prince Eric’s castle from the film.

-The Beauty and the Beast area is composed of three major show elements. The first is Enchanted Tales with Belle, one of three fairy-tale experiences created for Fantasyland Forest. The adventure begins when guests arrive at Maurice’s cottage, where they step through an enchanted mirror and are magically transported to the Beast’s library for an interactive storytelling session with Belle. At the Be Our Guest Restaurant, guests are invited to dine inside the Beast’s castle in one of three fully rendered environments, including a faithful re-creation of the ballroom. And once outside the castle, guests can explore Belle’s Village, an entire corner of the expansion area that includes Gaston’s Tavern.

–Dreams Come True with Cinderella takes place within the Tremaine Chateau from the 1950 film, and A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty is tucked away inside Briar Rose Cottage, deep within a lush, Eyvind Earle-inspired forest. “Cinderella’s Chateau is fully realized,” Jon explains. “When you step through the doors of that attraction, your interaction is immediate. You arrive at the moment she realizes she won’t be going to the ball, and her dress will transform from rags to a ball gown before your eyes, and then she’ll step down and have a 15-minute interaction with the guests.” For the Sleeping Beauty experience, that entry point happens as Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather prepare to celebrate Briar Rose’s 16th birthday, smack dab in the middle of the action from the original film. Guests are treated to all sorts of interactive fairy magic inside the cottage, with Aurora herself as the guest of honor.

-“You know, the ability to go to Cinderella’s Chateau and Belle’s Cottage to meet them is very exciting. As Imagineers. we don’t get to build those kinds of iconic locations very often. We’re going to look at this model as our template for other Fantasylands world-wide as we build new Magic Kingdom’s around the world”

-The final area, or neighborhood, is Dumbo’s Circus, which will relocate Dumbo the Flying Elephant from it’s current location and-get this, patient parents-double capacity by adding a second attraction, effectively cutting guests’ wait time in half! Imagineers are also air-conditioning the entire experience by moving the queue indoors-under the big top, as it were. “We’ll provide a fully immersive circus environment inside Dumbo’s Big Top,” says Jon, “where guests are invited to engage in a series of interactive experiences, from sideshow acts to carnival midway games, while they wait. We really endeavored to begin the guest experience the moment they entered the queue.” The Dumbo area, built on the former site of Mickey’s Toontown Fair, will also absorb Goofy’s Barnstormer and transform it into a Dumbo-centric, clown themed coaster.

-And-drumroll please-Fantasyland forest won’t be limited to four neighborhoods for very long. Although the new expansion is slated to open in the fall of 2012, at the tail end of Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary celebration, Imagineers already have their eyes on 2013, when Pixie Hollow will bring Tinker Bell and her fairy friends to Fantasyland Forest in the expansion’s second phase.

“A Contemporary Classic” by Chuck Mirarchi

WDWNT on January 29, 2010

When one uses the words landmark and iconic, they typically refer to objects and places that are instantly recognizable by virtually everyone, anywhere on the planet.  These words can easily be applied to things like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Taj Mahal. But for a theme park and resort complex?  Never… well except for one place, Disney Parks.

In addition to Mickey Mouse, who is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world, Cinderella’s Castle, Epcot’s Spaceship Earth and a number of other Walt Disney World buildings also fall into that category. Another Walt Disney World landmark that falls into that group is the Contemporary Resort Hotel.

The Contemporary Resort Hotel and the Polynesian Village Resort (as it was known in 1971) were the first two hotels to open with Walt Disney World on October 1, 1971.  On opening day, it truly lived up to its name, but to truly appreciate this resort, one must understand the hotel’s history.

In 1964, Walt Disney puts “Project X” (later known as “The Florida Project”) into motion.  After Walt’s death in December of 1966, Roy put most of Walt’s plans for EPCOT the city on hold; however, he incorporated many of EPCOT’s ideas and companies – already on board – into the creation of the new Florida park and resort.  The birth of the Contemporary Resort Hotel came from Walt’s vision for his “Progress City,” as well as the involvement of US Steel.

Read More about “A Contemporary Classic” by Chuck Mirarchi

The Worldwide Leader in Sports Meets the World

WDWNT on January 28, 2010

(JAN. 28, 2010):  The 220-acre sports complex at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. has been rebranded by ESPN, and will officially relaunch Feb. 25, 2010 as “ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.”  Pictured, the “E” of the ESPN logo is lowered into place on the complex’s entrance sign on Jan. 28, 2010.  Disney’s multi-sport venue hosts more than 250 sporting events each year for amateur and professional athletes.  On Feb. 25, ESPN Wide World of Sports will re-open with more than 40 high-definition and robotic video cameras, plus 10 handheld cameras, and 40 high-definition video screens, including two Jumbotrons placed throughout the complex. (Gene Duncan, Photographer)

Fantasyland Expansion Model: A Closer Look

WDWNT on January 28, 2010

A few days ago, a picture of a Walt Disney Imagineering model for the upcoming Fantasyland Expansion at the Magic Kingdom was leaked on to the Internet. We have obtained the picture and have a number of new details to share about the parks’ largest expansion ever. To view any of the images below in a larger format, simply click on the images to see them on the WDWNT SmugMug:

An overview of the entire model (you’ve probably seen this already): Since we saw the blueprints back in September 2009, some things have changed. The new “Dumbo the Flying Elephant” ride is going to be to the south of the Barnstormer now, leaving Pixie Hollow (in its newly updated form) to the north and next-door to the Little Mermaid attraction.

Beauty and the Beast Realm: Everything according to plan here. You can see the buildings for the meet-and greet and the connected buildings for “Be Our Guest” restaurant and Gaston’s Tavern behind the model facades.

The Little Mermaid Realm: The Little Mermaid dark-ride isn’t all this land has to boast. An Ariel meet-and-greet, the largest store of the Fantasyland Expansion, and (if the budget holds-up) a living character version of Sebastian the crab could be in the queue of the genuine Magic Kingdom E-Ticket.

Pixie Hollow: As we stated before, the model has a very different Pixie Hollow area from the original blueprints. Not only has the area moved, but the attractions in the area have been changed greatly. The building that will house the Pixie meet-and-greets is much bigger than the originally proposed Home Tree and is now attached to the show building for The Little Mermaid dark-ride. The huge building for the meet-and-greets isn’t a mistake, it’s because these meet-and-greets are supposed to be unlike anything ever seen before. The current plan is to use new living character technology to project the fairies into their natural habitat and have them interact with guests. We saw a short preview of this new technology in a Walt Disney Imagineering video released last year.

Also new for Pixie Hollow is a ride featuring “Cheese” the mouse, replacing the concept of a Pixie play area. This character from the Tinker Bell film series will take guests for a spin around part of Pixie Hollow after guests board from a queue made of oversized items (remember, you will be the size of one of the fairies when visiting Pixie Hollow). The ride will only be different in theme from the upcoming “Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree” at Disney’s California Adventure. Tinker Bell may even appear inside the giant lantern at the south end of the attraction as guests in vehicles spin from turntable to turntable.

Note that the new WDW Railroad station is rather plain, either because it borders both the Dumbo Circus area and Pixie Hollow, or simply because it has not been decided what the station should look like. The WDW Railroad will be closing for 3-4 months in 2010 to accommodate construction.

Dumbo’s Circus: The “Dueling Dumbos” have moved south to border the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. Meanwhile, the new theme for Goofy’s Barnstormer is undecided. Rumors indicate that it may be a more modern version of the Casey Jr. Circus Train attraction, running on the same track as the current coaster.

Pooh and Princesses: This area remains very true to the original blueprints. The facade and shop of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction will be updated this year to reflect a “Hundred Acre Woods” theme and most of what is Pooh’s Playful Spot today is set to become a Winnie the Pooh character meet-and-greet. The Mad Tea Party will probably not see any changes until after the entire expansion is completed in 2013. The Cinderella meet-and-greet and princess/royal guard training as well as the Aurora meet-and-greet/birthday party are still very much what they were originally announced to be.

For those wondering about the placement of the Castle Walls that will separate the medieval fair from the fantasy forest, this picture should give you a good idea. The thatched roof you see on what is currently Mrs. Potts’ Cupboard is currently being put in place, so the first piece (although very minor) of the expansion is already being completed.

We hope you enjoyed this in-depth look at the Fantasyland Expansion model. Stay tuned to WDW News Today in the coming weeks as we introduce a new feature to the site that will allow you to easily follow the development of the Fantasyland Expansion.

Disney Confirms New Restaurant for Italy Pavilion at Epcot

WDWNT on January 25, 2010

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Great news – especially if you share my passion for amazing pizza. An authentic pizzeria will be opening at Italy Pavilion at Epcot later this year and it’s an attention-grabber.

The new 300-seat restaurant will have traditional Florentine architecture, vaulted-ceilings and outside dining. And the food will be authentic — Italian dishes (complimenting the offerings at Tutto Italia) and pizza from wood-burning ovens.

The pizzeria will be the newest flagship restaurant in the Patina Restaurant Group’s portfolio. And one of the special touches at the Epcot location will be the water. It’ll be imported from a source where the composition most resembles water used in Naples, Italy, to make the authentic Italian dough.

A name for the family-style pizzeria has not been finalized but we wanted to share this information with you first on the Disney Parks Blog. Construction is currently underway and the restaurant is scheduled to open in fall 2010. Check back for more updates.

This announcement confirms the WDWNT report from last week. There is no word yet on if the restaurant will carry the Naples name as originally reported.

Stanley Tools: Proud Sponsor of Construction at Walt Disney World

WDWNT on January 22, 2010

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Walt Disney World has signed up a new corporate sponsor: Stanley Works.

The New Britain, Conn.-based tool manufacturer has signed a multiyear contract making it the “official tool provider” at Disney World and ensuring its brand is on view throughout the giant resort.

Stanley’s logo now appears on construction walls in Disney theme parks (on signs that feature quotes from Walt Disney) and its tools are now part of the garage area of the Lights, Motor, Action! Stunt Show in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Tools will soon be added to the queue of Test Track in Epcot, as well.

Stanley has also provided a Mac Tools truck for use by Disney technicians, and it will have access to resort facilities for employee and sales meetings.

The companies declined to disclose exact terms of the deal.