When “it’s a small world” Holiday returns to the Disneyland Resort on November 10th, 2017, it will offer both FastPass and MaxPass to allow guests to more quickly experience this very popular attraction.
“it’s a small world” Holiday often proves quite popular, so it has been surprising to see FastPass not in use over all these years, despite that it was one of the first Disneyland attractions to ever use the service back in 1999. This year, it will offer MaxPass as well, allowing guests to book the ride reservations digitally on their phones via the Disneyland app.
Disney has stated that this will be a test of the service at the attraction, and should it prove popular, FastPass and MaxPass will become regular offerings at “it’s a small world” throughout the year.
Our first photo report of 2017 brings us to the Magic Kingdom to see the latest adjustments and merchandise additions around the park. Let’s jump right in, shall we?
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom
Good morning Magic Kingdom!
They have slowly been repaving the area outside of Mickey’s Philharmagic over the last few weeks.
Some new Villains shirts available at Sir Mickey’s.
A new Belle shirt for sale as well.
Christmas stickers were being given out all around the park.
Liberty Square Market has started selling Muppets plush since the show is nearby. They can’t sell baked potatoes anymore, BUT LETS STOCK SOME PLUSH!
There has been a pretty vile garbage mound growing in the Rivers of America as of late…
Including some dead fish…
PADDLEFISH ANYONE?
If I haven’t mentioned it before, Pecos Bill’s has recently become my favorite counter service stop at the Magic Kingdom. The fajita dish is pretty good and offers more than enough food.
The bowl is pretty good as well, considering you can load it up at the toppings bar.
Christmas Party exclusive pins were being sold to the general public before the last party even happened. As I have complained before, they should at least wait until the final party is over…
We found some baby ducks hanging out by Tomorrowland. I’ve never seen them this late in the year.
“No, don’t eat the cigarette!!!”
Stitch’s Great Escape Returns
Stitch’s Great Escape reopened for a bit every day to combat the crowds in the park. It actually was getting quite the line.
The walls that have been up since the rock painting began have now finally come down.
The decal over the entrance has been falling off for months, but I suppose there’s no reason to invest in something you are closing.
We pretty much just went in to say hello to Skippy who stayed over from the Alien Encounter attraction.
When seats are broken, you will sometimes still see these XS Tech “Temporarily Seized” seat covers.
This and That
The new customizable Star Wars name tags are also available at the Merchant of Venus, not just at Hollywood Studios.
They are now regularly handing out Zootopia stickers in Tomorrowland for some reason.
There its some heavy construction taking place near the Kingdom Cabanas adjacent to Space Mountain, not sure what for as of yet.
“it’s a MagicBand 2.0”
One of the first MagicBand 2’s available to guests is this “it’s a small world” 45th anniversary band currently available.
Our first photo report of 2017 brings us to the Magic Kingdom to see the latest adjustments and merchandise additions around the park. Let’s jump right in, shall we?
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom
Good morning Magic Kingdom!
They have slowly been repaving the area outside of Mickey’s Philharmagic over the last few weeks.
Some new Villains shirts available at Sir Mickey’s.
A new Belle shirt for sale as well.
Christmas stickers were being given out all around the park.
Liberty Square Market has started selling Muppets plush since the show is nearby. They can’t sell baked potatoes anymore, BUT LETS STOCK SOME PLUSH!
There has been a pretty vile garbage mound growing in the Rivers of America as of late…
Including some dead fish…
PADDLEFISH ANYONE?
If I haven’t mentioned it before, Pecos Bill’s has recently become my favorite counter service stop at the Magic Kingdom. The fajita dish is pretty good and offers more than enough food.
The bowl is pretty good as well, considering you can load it up at the toppings bar.
Christmas Party exclusive pins were being sold to the general public before the last party even happened. As I have complained before, they should at least wait until the final party is over…
We found some baby ducks hanging out by Tomorrowland. I’ve never seen them this late in the year.
“No, don’t eat the cigarette!!!”
Stitch’s Great Escape Returns
Stitch’s Great Escape reopened for a bit every day to combat the crowds in the park. It actually was getting quite the line.
The walls that have been up since the rock painting began have now finally come down.
The decal over the entrance has been falling off for months, but I suppose there’s no reason to invest in something you are closing.
We pretty much just went in to say hello to Skippy who stayed over from the Alien Encounter attraction.
When seats are broken, you will sometimes still see these XS Tech “Temporarily Seized” seat covers.
This and That
The new customizable Star Wars name tags are also available at the Merchant of Venus, not just at Hollywood Studios.
They are now regularly handing out Zootopia stickers in Tomorrowland for some reason.
There its some heavy construction taking place near the Kingdom Cabanas adjacent to Space Mountain, not sure what for as of yet.
“it’s a MagicBand 2.0”
One of the first MagicBand 2’s available to guests is this “it’s a small world” 45th anniversary band currently available.
Tokyo Disneyland’s version of “It’s a Small World” is being updated by the Spring of2018, adding about 40 new characters to the attraction, including those from Disney’s Frozen. This is the first major update made to the attraction since opening in 1983.
The attraction will close on March 1, 2017, and reopens in spring 2018 (no set date yet).
In our latest photo report, we visit the Magic Kingdom as the Christmas holiday season kicks off early. The park is already fully decorated and new entertainment for the season has already debuted. There’s also plenty more new and exciting things happening around the park, so let’s check it all out.
Merry Christmas
November 2nd was the official start of the holiday season at Walt Disney World as the Magic Kingdom is fully decorated and several holiday offerings are now in full swing.
The Jingle Cruise poster is back under the train station. We’ll check in on that a bit later in the report.
IS IT ART?
IS IT? IS IT ART?
Be sure to take a look at our daytime video tour of the decorations below:
Uptown Jewelers Reopens
Uptown Jewelers has been closed for months but reopened over the weekend. The store was completely remodeled and now seems just jewelry and bags for women.
Baked Potato Moves
The baked potato is gone from Liberty Square Market, but don’t fear. It has moved to the nearby Sleepy Hollow Refreshments.
The Jingle Cruise Returns
The Jingle Cruise is back for 2016! The annual holiday overlay began its third season at the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday. We have a video of our first ride of the season for you below:
This and That
The lighting on the Storybook Circus sign is being replaced, so it is just some flat lettering right now.
A Snowman Tote is now available as a purchase-with-purchase gift for $19.95 when you spend $25.00 or more.
Pins from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party still linger in Big Top Souvenirs.
Elena of Avalor Meet and Greet
The Elena of Avalor meet and greet, scheduled to begin on November 24th, 2016, is already in a soft-opening phase. Elena can be found next to Cinderella at Princess Fairytale Hall at random.
We have video of our excellent experience with Elena of Avalor for you:
“it’s a small world” Merchandise
Some new “it’s a small world” merchandise is now available around the resort.
Mousecellaneous
Even though the crane is gone, work continues behind Cinderella Castle.
The holiday finale of Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire debuted yesterday. You can see video of the finale below:
The Space Mountain exit ramp once again displays the names of guests
Space Mountain and “it’s a small world”, which boast two of the simpler “name display” effects, were both reactivated over the weekend. These effects had both been turned off for weeks when we ran our story last week (in fairness”it’s a small world” was closed for most of that time, but returned for at least a week with the effect still off). Maybe somebody reads WDWNT.com?
:it’s a small world” says goodbye to guests in various languages at the Magic Kingdom
Perhaps it had simply gone unnoticed, or perhaps Disney was in the progress of updating the technology or fixing the broken readers at the attractions. The truth is, we may never know exactly what happened.
Interestingly enough, the effect in The Haunted Mansion is still turned off. Perhaps the upcoming December refurbishment will be used to fix the effect? Only time will tell.
Our latest photo report brings us to the Magic Kingdom on its 45th anniversary weekend, but changes in the park certainly didn’t stop for the festivities. Rapid progress on the look of Tomorrowland continues, Stitch’s Great Escape has closed, and OK, we have some duck pictures.
Magic Kingdom 45th Anniversary
A special commemorative map was given out to mark the day.
The opening day resorts and the park also had complimentary buttons for guests.
The day began with a special welcome show at the Train Station:
Plenty of specialty merchandise was available (the line lasted over an hour at some points though).
The line wrapped around the Emporium and went down most of the street.
The main event of the day was a special anniversary ceremony at Cinderella Castle:
A special “Celebration Dog” was being served at Casey’s Corner:
Big Top Treats had some special candy apples.
Gaston’s Tavern and the Main Street Bakery were serving the infamous anniversary cupcake.
This time, guests could choose chocolate or vanilla cake.
The only piece of the open edition merchandise that came out on the 1st was this lanyard and pin set. That being said, most of the open edition items are currently sold out.
There’s a Tomorrowland mural under there, and no, it’s not by Mary Blair.
This and That
The Carousel of Progress finally got its new marquee sing, but you probably already saw that post…
The often congested Fantasyland bottleneck is now equipped with permanent signage for cast members to use. This only took 45 years.
Only 8 days before it happens, Disney releases a “Glowing Away Soon” shirt for the Main Street Electrical Parade. This shirt will be outdated in less than week. Why not put the final day on it? Oh, in case it gets rained out this weekend…
There is a fantastic photo-op at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe right now featuring Sonny Eclipse, “the biggest little star in the universe”.
New Space Mountain Lighting
After years of waiting, LED lighting was finally installed on the exterior of Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and it looks fantastic!
MagicBand Interactivity Returns
Right after we reported that they were off, many interactive elements returned to the Magic Kingdom. The goodbye at “it’s a small world” was turned on, but has still been breaking a lot.
Is Disney finally throwing in the towel on these elements? It is uncertain, but all of theme being turned off simultaneously certainly means that they are up to something.
Some of these changes were deemed controversial by fans. The personalized tombstones that the ghosts would carry in the Haunted Mansion finale were called hokey, the “it’s a small world” goodbyes considered forced, and overall many guests felt like Disney was shoving it down their throats that they had the technology to put their name (and where they live) on a screen. Personally, I thought at least a few of them were clever, but agree there was likely too many of them present.
Guest names would show up as “it’s a small world” would say goodbye in various languages to them using RFID technology in the MagicBand
Similar effects were also installed at several other locations but never turned on. For example, screens inside Star Tours and the Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios were simply never used. Another set of screens at Cover Story on Hollywood Boulevard were turned on for about 2 weeks before going back to being just static images again.
The Mission Roster at the exit of Mission: Space was turned off for the first time this week since it was installed. A short ISTC video with famous quotes about the exploration of space plays now:
Perhaps Disney will be upgrading these systems and they will be returning soon, but for now (or possibly forever), don’t be surprised if you don’t see your name in lights at your favorite Walt Disney World locale.
Our latest photo report takes us to the Magic Kingdom to see the latest goings on. The 45th anniversary is looming, with several attractions in the park being refurbished, or in some cases preparing to close for a while. Oh, and there’s refillable popcorn still…
The Magic Kingdom 45th Anniversary Merchandise
On Thursday, stores around the Magic Kingdom began carrying 45th Anniversary merchandise ahead of the October 1st celebration coming up this weekend. We have a full guide available to the dozens of new items in a separate post, but there is also a video walkthrough of the entire line available:
Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse Refurbishment Extended
Since it is probably the most extensive refurbishment in the history of the attraction, the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse will not be open for its 45th birthday on October 1st. The new date Disney is telling cast members is simply “late October”.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment
The refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom rolls on, set to reopen November 19th, 2016.
Who Wants Popcorn?
A new Halloween popcorn bucket on sale around the resort.
The refillable popcorn bucket promotion was indefinitely extended, buckets are now good for $1.50 refills for length of stay. This means that as long as you have a bucket and they continue this promotion, you can get a $1.50 refill of popcorn.
This and That
After many months out of stock, the Magic Kingdom ornament is finally back!
The repainting of the castle and installation of the holiday lights continues.
Some tarps are still up at the Haunted Mansion.
I’m happy to report that “it’s a small world” was doing much better this week, with many effects fixed, including the South American sun which has been broken for almost a year.
Color Return to Storybook Circus
The Florida sun fades things fast, so it was sad to see the banners in Storybook Circus fading away so quickly. Disney has started to replace the banners again, making the area look fresh and vibrant.
This larger banner hasn’t been replaced yet.
There are still many left to go…
Chip and Dale have moved to a new home in Storybook Circus during the day. The space is already set up for meet and greets for the Halloween Party.
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Cases
D-Tech on Demand at the Tomorrowland Light and Power Co. has rolled out cases for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
There was also one new design we spotted on our most recent visit.
There was absolutely no one waiting for the show when we went in.
The place is kind of falling apart, a staple of seasonal attractions at the end of their lifespan. I recall Horizons at Epcot being mostly broken in my later experiences riding it after it had gone seasonal.
A few people did show up before showtime.
While I am happy to see Stitch on its way out, I am sad to see the remnants of Alien Encounter do the same.
Tomorrowland Rocks
The rock painting at the entrance of Tomorrowland continues. The small rocks on the shoreline have been painted a normal grey rock color.
The island in front of Tomorrowland has been turned to dirt. It should be interesting to see what they do here.
2 major refurbishments roll on, Tomorrowland continues to get a new look, and some new merchandise is discovered in our latest photo report visiting the Magic Kingdom:
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!
New Merchandise
Limited Release Han Solo MagicBand
I really love this new limited release Han Solo and Chewbacca MagicBand.
Limited Release Han Solo MagicBand
The Millennium Falcon on the opposite side is a nice touch.
The Mr. Toad taxi art is now on a pin in full color.
A new “cute” Star Wars character pin set was recently released.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment
The refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rolls on through November.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Crane-mas
Cinderella Castle crane
The installation of the holiday lights on Cinderella Castle continues.
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