Replacing Pleasure

WDWNT on December 15, 2007

Screamscape.com is reporting the following rumor:

“Fans of the Pleasure Island nightlife will want to take note of this latest rumor. According to Screamscape sources we’ve heard that there could be some fairly significant changes to Pleasure Island starting in 2008. In fact, as early as January we could see Disney begin the process of shutting down the various nightclubs one by one. I don’t know if this is just for remodeling, a total revamp of the PI concept, or something else entirely. I’m also not sure if the term “club” applied to just the drinking/dancing clubs or if this rumor also applies to the Adventurer’s Club or the Comedy Warehouse.
I know that in the last year or two Disney completed a new remodeling of Pleasure Island to allow foot traffic to better flow through it from the West End to the Marketplace side. This along with the admission changes were supposed to be just the first step of many for a complete overall remodel of the Pleasure Island concept. Back when that was all still just a rumor I had heard at the time that Disney was in talks with Lucky Strike Lanes to convert the Beach Club into one of their high-end bowling clubs. I’ve got to wonder if that deal is still on the table or if it was just one of many that were in the works. Can anyone shed a little light on just what might be going on?”

I have also been hearing these same rumors, especially on a new bowling alley, about Pleasure Island. This is still a rumor at this moment, but we will keep you posted as more information on this becomes available.

Still a Masterpiece After 36 Years

WDWNT on December 14, 2007

The Thomas Kinkade Company announced today that Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Light, has unveiled A New Day at the Cinderella Castle, a depiction of the Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle as a new morning dawns, the Thomas Kinkade Company announced today.

Kinkade exhibited A New Day at the Cinderella Castle for the first time at an October 20, 2007 event at Walt Disney World. The piece, which offers the discovery of a dawn every bit as festive and delightful as the castle itself, was inspired by the Kinkade family’s annual visits to the Magic Kingdom. “This year, I went in my imagination to explore a vision of the regal castle gently kissed by the golden light of a perfect day,” Kinkade said. “Two of the dream-memories we take from childhood on our life’s journey, if we are fortunate, are the wonder and excitement of Walt Disney World and the soaring majesty of castles,” Kinkade later added.

A New Day at the Cinderella Castle is the second artwork that the Disney organization has commissioned from Kinkade. The first commissioned piece, Disneyland 50th Anniversary, commemorated Disneyland’s half-century birthday.

Kinkade takes a unique and decidedly whimsical approach in this piece. He captures a perfect morning in exquisite detail, from the arc of a double rainbow over the towering castle to the fluffy clouds dappling the castle’s many towers to the lavish, rainbow-hued trees and shrubs framing the building and quaint gas lamps dancing along the walkway.

The piece also offers a host of surprises to curious ones willing to look a little closer. Is that Bambi on the lawn? Tinker Bell above the castle spires? The Ugly Duckling in the pond? Kinkade leaves those answers up to individual interpretation.

America’s Most Beloved Artist called the Cinderella Castle “an enchanting inspiration to young and old.”

A New Day at the Cinderella Castle can be found at Thomas Kinkade Galleries Nationwide or on the web at www.thomaskinkade.com.

Disney Building Employee Health Center

WDWNT on December 13, 2007

Disney announced plans Wednesday to build a $6 million health facility on its property for the use of its cast members and their dependents who participate in the company’s health plans.

The 15,000-square-foot facility will give cast members access to primary care doctors and other medical professionals, as well as a pharmacy, lab, basic radiology and wellness and behavioral health resources.

The facility will open in 2009 and will be operated by a health management company to be chosen in the coming months.

The new health center will provide:

  • Longer-than-average visits with health care professionals
  • Convenience through extended operating hours, weekend availability and its close proximity to work-coordinated treatment

More than 40,000 Walt Disney World cast members and dependents are currently eligible for benefits.

Finally, Some Imagination

WDWNT on December 12, 2007

In what will probably be the first of many, a permit has been filed to refurbish and change the post show area of the Imagination pavillion at Epcot.  This will most likely be the first step in revamping the pavillion, which as spent almost a decade in dismay. These plans have been sitting around for a while, but it appears that the conclusion of work on Spaceship Earth has finally opened the door for this project. This particular permit can be found HERE.

Discuss this developement HERE.

Football Teams Get The Boot

WDWNT on December 10, 2007

A group of young athletes was kicked out of Walt Disney World in the middle of the night Saturday.

Disney made the decision to kick out three teams participating in the Pop Warner Superbowl competition — two from Hawaii and one from Baltimore — because of a fight between some of their athletes.

According to Disney, it is written into their policy for group packages that everyone will be forced to leave if even one member of the party is involved in a violent act on property.

However, parents said the way they were treated just wasn’t right.

“They could have handled it so much better, you know? They really could have. They could have said look you know what? Fine, you guys have to leave in the morning. Then our babies. We have one year old, two year old, three year olds, that we had to just jerk out of bed and they were just crying. You know it was just a bad scene. It was really a bad scene,” said Labryanna Kubo, a parent traveling with the Hawaii team.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the incident.

Woman Tries to Bring Gun To WDW

WDWNT on December 10, 2007

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Security at Walt Disney World discovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun during a routine safety check at the theme park on Sunday. They said the weapon belonged to Mary Ann Richardson, 63 of Pennsylvania. Richardson was trying to enter Walt Disney World with her family. She told security that she traveled with the handgun and forgot it was inside her purse. Along with the loaded 32 caliber semi-automatic handgun, security also found a pair of scissors and a locked blade knife in the purse. Walt Disney World Security notified the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies took Richardson into custody and charged her with possession of a concealed weapon. She is held in the Orange County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

SSE Soft Openings

WDWNT on December 7, 2007

A reader just left us an voicemail reporting that Spaceship Earth is open right now, they are allowing guests on the attraction this evening. If you have seen the new Spaceship Earth and would like to tell us your review or report on the changes, feel free to call our voicemail at 206-350-8232 or email us at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com.

SSE Preview in the Orlando Sentinel

WDWNT on December 7, 2007

Disney makes changes to Epcot’s Spaceship Earth attraction

Dewayne Bevil |Sentinel Staff Writer 6:38 PM EST, December 6, 2007
Epcot enthusiasts will have a ball again soon. Construction walls near Spaceship Earth, iconic sphere of the theme park, will fall sometime next week, after five months of refurbishment, Walt Disney World officials said. Inside are changes in content, new interactive components and enhancements of items that have marked the attraction since day one.

Its theme has shifted from communication through the ages to one of inspiration and innovation. The most recent script, read by Jeremy Irons, has been scrapped — the new narrator is Oscar winner Judi Dench, whose words guide riders through the generations.

“The story is those building blocks that got us to today,” said Bob Zalk, show producer. The plot winds through several scenes familiar to Spaceship Earth fans: the Egyptians, the burning of Rome (that smoky aroma remains), the Renaissance, the switchboard and more. All scenes up through the 1960s living room remain, but elements have been repositioned and upgraded. Each have new lights and costumes. Some Audio-Animatronics are increasingly lifelike.

“We’ve technologically updated the figures so they can move around more than before,” said Eric Jacobson, senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering. “That’s something we couldn’t do in the ’80s.” Especially striking are a Greek teacher and a Roman soldier.

Fresh content is most apparent as riders near the top of the sphere. New sets representing the invention of the computer mainframe and the garage where the personal computer was developed lead to the darkened, downward second half of the experience. As the cars coast down the rail, passengers answer seven questions about their future on a touch screen. (Do you prefer the journey or the destination? While away, do you worry more about your home or your pet?) Answers are melded into a customized piece of retro-yet-futuristic cartoon for each row.

Other changes blend old and new. The revised living room steers attention to the 1969 moon landing on TV — featuring reports from Walter Cronkite, a former narrator of Spaceship Earth.

“We think the traditionalists will be happy,” Jacobson said.

Finishing touches continue, but a few Epcot visitors may get a peek before the official opening. Elements to come later include language options selected by passenger (a Disney first) and more post-show goodies, including a game called Power City and a big globe pinpointing where each day’s visitors live.

Insider Video Here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/video/?slug=orl-wn-disneyvideo1207067